Utah Jazz: UNC's Hansbrough, USC's Gibson audition for Jazz decision-makers

For Tyler Hansbrough, it's all about perceptions. And, as he sees it, misperceptions.

Take the old nickname, the one bestowed by his adoring strength coach at the University of North Carolina, the one so many know.

Psycho T, that would be.

"It got blown way out of proportion," Hansbrough, a possible pick for Utah at No. 20 overall in the June 25 NBA Draft, said after working out for the Jazz on Monday afternoon.

"It's kind of worn off right now," he added with reference to the well-known tag. "We don't really look at it like that anymore."

So what then?

T-Bone works, Hansbrough suggested.

Plain ol' Tyler — he was actually born Andrew Tyler Hansbrough — is fine by him, too.

Really, though, the moniker doesn't matter much.

What does is enhancing how people perceive his play — even after a decidedly successful four-year career at Carolina, including an NCAA championship earlier this season, consensus first-team All-America recognition three straight years (the first player to do that since Patrick Ewing and the late Wayman Tisdale in 1985) and 2008 consensus National Player of the Year honors.

"I'm more athletic than what a lot of people think I am," Hansbrough said. "I think a lot of people see me as just a hard worker. But, you know, I do a little more than work hard."

Since helping lead the Tar Heels to the national title that prompted a justified return for his senior season in college, Hansbrough has been busy trying to convince NBA scouts of that.

He's been flashing a move or two not necessarily seen much in school, and said he's grown increasingly confident in his still-improving jumper.

That combined with better than expected measurements at the recent NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago — 6-feet-9 1/2-inch in shoes, about an inch more than some anticipated, and a 6-11 1/2 wingspan — is making believers out of naysayers and trumpeters out of those long in the chorus.

"He plays hard," Jazz player personnel vice president Walt Perrin said. "He plays physical. He's a tough kid."

And, Perrin concurred, "I think he is a little bit more athletic than people give him credit for."

Still, toughness and work ethic remain Hansbrough's most-convincing calling cards — especially when the recipients happen to be the lunch-pail Jazz.