Tyler Hansbrough has reached the point where you think he’s having a quiet half, and you look down and see he has already has 12 points.

He doesn’t wow you have sizzle, like sweeping hooks and sweet three-pointers.

He doesn’t block shots often – only 48 for his career. And when you look at him on the court, he’s not overly imposing.

But the numbers he is producing, the way Carolina is winning, and the way he plays each possession has raised the question of where he’ll rank once his career is over.

The answer, for now, is he’s easily the second-best center the Tar Heels have ever had. By the time he finishes, he may be the best. If he’s a national player of the year, his jersey will be retired. Certainly, it will hang as an honored jersey in the Smith Center.

UNC calls Hansbrough a forward, but that’s a misnomer. He usually plays with his back to the basket and defends opposing post players. Players and programs like to call their centers “forwards” because it harkens to a style that includes more than traditional post play and speaks to what they’ll play in the NBA.

For Carolina, though, Hansbrough is a center, and there’s nothing wrong with that. And what he has achieved so far ranks him at the top of his position at the school.

He already has 1,911 points in his career, good for ninth in UNC history. He’s only two points from passing Brad Daugherty, who was a starter, at center, for four seasons.

The only center ahead of Hansbrough on the UNC scoring charts after Daugherty is Sam Perkins, who scored 2,145 points in a four-year career that ended in1984. For those who don’t remember, the long-armed Perkins was known for his low-key demeanor, but he was a brilliant player for the teams that included James Worthy and Michael Jordan. His 1,167 rebounds is 11th in ACC history.

In the rush to marvel at Hansbrough’s tour de force, it’s worth remembering that Perkins was a splendid player whose talent wasn’t overshadowed by those around him. He had a lengthy NBA career.

But when Hansbrough’s career is finished, he has a chance to equal, and perhaps surpass, Perkins. What Perkins has in his favor is a 1982 NCAA title and 1981 appearance in the championship game. He also had more blocks in every season he played (67, 53, 65 and 60) than Hansbrough has in his career.

What Hansbrough has, though, is time. He continued his torrid pace Wednesday against N.C. State with 32 points and 12 rebounds. He has a chance to pass Phil Ford (2,290 points) as Carolina’s all-time leading scorer if he stays for his senior year.

“Well, he’s pretty dog-gone good,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “When we get the basketball to him, he’s able to make plays. He’s able to make jump shots now.”

And what he has going for him, too, is a ferocious style that was evident Wednesday, when he hurtled in front of a State pass and wound up slamming into Williams on the Carolina bench. After Hansbrough got up, Williams had to re-clasp his watch and make sure it was still working.

“I was worried,” Williams said. “But I would have given my wristwatch to see that big sucker not get hurt. It came unclasped but that’s alright.”

Even State’s Sidney Lowe was gushing about Hansbrough after the game.
“He’s a heck of a player and he’s a heck of a competitor,” Lowe said, his voice elevated. I admire that in the way he competes. I admire his toughness. His talent is one thing, but I admire the way he competes.”

Lowe hesitated a bit when asked how Hansbrough will fare in the NBA.

“That’s hard to say for me right now. That’s a totally different level,” said Lowe, a former NBA head coach. “The guys are taller and stronger than the guys he’s playing against right now.

“He certainly can play there. But I don’t know in terms of what his productivity will be.
“I tell you want he’s not going to hurt you.”

He certainly doesn’t hurt the Tar Heels.
And their best center ever? By career’s end, he could be.