Baynes will have hands full
PULLMAN – There’s a pretty good chance North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough will be named the nation’s top collegiate player this season. If not, the 6-foot-9 junior will have to settle for being considered the country’s premier post player.
Washington State’s Aron Baynes knows he’s not in that conversation yet. In fact, he says he’s not even the best center to come out of Australia, listing five or six he would rate higher.
Yet how the 6-10 Baynes performs Thursday in the NCAA East Regional game against UNC (32-2) may decide WSU’s fate.
If the fourth-seeded Cougars can reach their first goal, which is to slow down top-ranked North Carolina’s fast break, then Hansbrough becomes the Tar Heels’ first offensive option.
Why shouldn’t he? The inevitable NBA first-round draft pick and ACC player of the year averages 22.8 points, shoots 54 percent from the floor, 81 percent from the line with 10.2 rebounds.
“He’s got all the recognition in the whole country,” Baynes said Monday. “… It will be fun to be able to test myself against him.”
Baynes supplies the Cougars (26-8) with a presence down low on both offense (10.3 points per game) and defense (a team-leading 5.9 rebounds). His thundering dunks helped keep WSU even with Winthrop early in the first-round win, then his defense against 6-8, 250-pound Big East player of the year Luke Harangody was cited by coach Tony Bennett as one of the key elements of the second-round victory.
But Hansbrough offers a greater challenge.
For Baynes to contribute, he has to play extended minutes. Foul trouble has plagued him in key games and Hansbrough has the reputation as one of the best at drawing fouls.
“Everyone tries to get (the opponent) in foul trouble,” Baynes said. “It’s the easiest way to nullify the defense. I suppose you have to be a bit more conscious about it the way he plays.
“I have to stay on the floor,” Baynes added. “Early in the year I wasn’t, even toward the middle of the year I still was getting in foul trouble. I’m just trying to play more of a defensive role and make it as hard for them on the defensive end as I can.”
Baynes played a large part of the second half against Notre Dame in foul trouble, but he was able to avoid fouling out despite Harangody’s best efforts. All year WSU’s coaching staff emphasized defensive positioning and movement with Baynes.
“They had to sink in,” Baynes said, laughing. “The coaches were getting a little annoyed with it, so I had to keep doing it in practice. And you are going to play the way you practice.”
Baynes and Hansbrough both practice one thing on the court: They play with a fire that sometimes borders on fury.
“Some emotion is good,” Baynes said. “When it starts getting a little excessive it can hurt. When you are playing a guy like (Hansbrough) you don’t have too much extra energy to expend. You just have to level down and play a stone-faced game.”