I think we all knew coming out of college that Hansbrough had limitations, but I don't think there's any way I would have foreseen everyone on that list out-earning him in NBA money.
If you had told me in 2011 about these salaries, I would have been surprised only at Green and Lawson, whose earnings I would have predicted to be swapped. Of course Lawson was on that course until the drinking got the better of him.
The other surprise for me is Henson not on the list. I thought he was going to be good in the NBA. I don't know what happened for him. His efficiency stats always looked good. It's hard for me to believe that he was a terrible defender. He might have been just a bit early -- in today's game, his ability to guard in space would be great for a big man. He'd have to get a 3 point shot.
Hans was never a legit NBA prospect. I can't believe he was taken late lottery. He was 24 when he left UNC (IIRC)! That's five years older than most lottery picks! Players don't tend to improve all that much after that age. You could see his pro weakness at UNC. He ate defenders about his size for lunch. Weak defenders were toast. But tall defenders -- the kind that every NBA team has -- always gave him big trouble. And his short arms meant that he would never be a rim protector. Basically, he had almost no NBA quality skills. Too short for the post with few real moves. Poor passer because of poor floor vision (the flip side of his relentlessness). Too small with short arms to be a disruptive defender. He was never a great defensive rebounder. Not a shooter. He remained a good offensive rebounder in the NBA, but that was his only calling card and it's just too specialized.
Wayne was too short to make a living in the midrange in the NBA, and he was just never quite a good enough shooter from distance. He had a place in the league because he was a smart player who could shoot some threes (especially in the corner), but from 3 point distance he wasn't good enough to carve out a big role.
Ty should have been a fucking machine. He was trapped in the Western Conference when it seemed as though everyone had a top PG and so he never quite got the recognition he deserved. He was good enough to have been a slam-dunk all-star in the East, but in the West, he couldn't quite get over the top. And then the drinking. Also, Ty would be better in today's uptempo NBA. He happened to show up at a time when the league wasn't doing that much in transition (outside of a couple of teams) and so his speed was never the factor it could have been.
