Hansbrough Set To Visit Florida

It’s shaping up to be a big weekend for Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators. Tyler Hansbrough, the 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward from Poplar Bluff High School in Poplar Bluff, MO., will arrive in Gainesville on Friday for an official visit. Hansbrough is looking forward to spending some quality time with another Missouri native, David Lee.

“I leave for Florida tomorrow (Friday) and will return home on Sunday,” Hansbrough said. “This is my first official visit, so it’s something that I’m really looking forward to. I really want to spend a lot of time with the players and coaches. I plan to get a good look at the campus and things like that.

“David Lee is going to be my host for the weekend, which is something I’m really looking forward to,” he added. “He and I are both my Missouri, so we have something in common.”

It appears that the recruiting battle for Hansbrough is down to four teams. He indicated that he was going to keep all of his options open, but spoke very highly of a select group of schools.

“Once my visit to Florida is complete, I will probably take visits to North Carolina, Missouri and Arizona,” Hansbrough said. “There is a chance that I could take that fifth and final visit, but I haven’t made a decision about that yet. Duke is a school that I could visit, but I don’t know yet.”

After straining his achilles right before the season started, Hansbrough is grateful to be back out on the court. There was a time when he thought he might be back a little earlier, but his father, Dr. Hansbrough, decided it would be best for his son to take a little extra time off.

“Man, it was great getting back on the court. I just broke the school record for career points scored,” Hansbrough said. “My bother threw me an alley-oop pass that I dunked in. It is great that my brother is apart of the record. I have been averaging about 29 points since returning to the team and we’ve only lost one game.”

Rivals.com ranks Hansbrough as the fifth best player in the class of 2005.