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Hansbroughs, state title teams join PB Sports Hall of Fame
“Tonight, we honor the boys that turned into men, and the men who turned into leaders,” Sarah Holt proclaimed as she inducted the 2004 and 2005 PBHS Mules basketball teams into the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of fame on Thursday. “These championships were built on their coaches and their families.”
The 2024 Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame banquet was held in the E.T. Peters gym at the Poplar Bluff Middle School campus. A crowd of approximately 150 people arrived to witness the induction of the championship teams, as well as the induction of both Ben and Tyler Hansbrough.
The crowd laughed as PBSHOF board member Chris Rushin recalled numerous things before inducting Ben Hansbrough. Rushin spoke fondly of the location in which the banquet took place.
“Remember what it was like to be in this building?” Rushin asked the crowd. “It was jam-packed! There were people standing three to four people deep up on the catwalk.
“There is so much history here in this building and we were all raised in it. I work with the Boys & Girls Club, which is just next door, and I get to look at this building every day — and every day I remember so many wonderful things about this place.”
Rushin went on to speak about his initial encounter with Ben Hansbrough, when he coached him in eighth grade football.
“I told his dad, Gene, that Ben doesn’t want to do something, he won’t do it,” Rushin noted. “But if he wants something, he works his tail off to get there.”
In addition to being a vital piece of PBHS championship basketball, Rushin credited Ben Hansbrough with being responsible for changing public perspective on Notre Dame Fighting Irish college basketball.
“Prior to Ben playing for Notre Dame, anyone you spoke to would associate the Fighting Irish with football,” Rushin stated. “Plenty of people probably didn’t even realize they had a basketball program. But I watched Ben go on to become the Big East Player of the Year.
“Ben, you got people to watch Notre Dame basketball. You helped change that culture.”
Ben Hansbrough spoke briefly after his induction.
“We were part of a really good team,” Ben Hansbrough remarked. “And it was a great team from top to bottom. It was a team where everyone played their role; and I was lucky to be a part of such a great group of guys.”
Ross Whelan, who was also a member of the championship teams, briefly spoke as he inducted Tyler Hansbrough into the PBSHOF.
“I had the privilege of playing alongside Tyler for several years, “Whelan noted. “He started off by dominating AAU basketball at 10 years old, and went on to lead us to two championships, as well as a national championship for North Carolina and then on to the NBA. But his greatness extends beyond the basketball court. He brings the same dedication and passion to his friendships. He always has your back.
“He’s an exceptional athlete and human being. Tyler, watching you achieve greatness has been incredible. But having you as a friend has been even better.”
“This is a very special place,” Tyler said to the crowd, following his induction. “No one supported our team like the community supported our team.”
Tyler went on to credit various people for his success.
“I put together a daily routine based on what I learned at Gene Bess’s basketball camps,” Tyler noted. “(Poplar Bluff head) coach (John David) Pattillo was a great coach. He always had us peaking at the right time. And I owe a lot to my dad for working with me and playing with me every day. We would play one on one and he was so tough. I wasn’t able to beat him until eighth grade.”
Both Tyler and Ben Hansbrough went on to eventually play in the NBA. After leading the North Carolina Tarheels to a national championship, Tyler was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. Tyler’s jersey, number 50, has been retired at PBHS and North Carolina. He holds numerous PBHS basketball records in addition to winning all six national player of the year awards in his junior year of college.
Ben Hansbrough is second in all-time scoring for PBHS basketball and was a consensus All-American in 2011. He went on to play professionally overseas as well as the NBA development league, and later signed to play with the Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls. In 2012, Ben and Tyler Hansbrough became the fourth pair of brothers to play together on the same NBA team, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I can look at every table in here and see people who have touched my life,” said Patillo, who was coach of the championship teams. “I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate all of you. We were always working to get better. There are so many of you that I view as family.”