 Tyler Hansbrough returned to the court Thursday for the first time since summer-league play. (NBAE/Getty Images)
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with return to practice
The sight of Tyler Hansbrough on the practice court, even if in a restricted capacity, was welcome good news for the Pacers Thursday as they prepared for their final preseason game Friday against San Antonio at Indiana University's Assembly Hall.
Out the past three months to rest a shin injury carried over from his senior season at North Carolina, Hansbrough went through halfcourt five-on-five drills.
"He did some really good things," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "He's very aggressive, pretty aware of what we're trying to do. It was great to have him be in any live activity."
The first-round pick from North Carolina was impressive with the Pacers' summer league team in Orlando in early July but lingering pain in the shin led to an enforced rest period. The team announced on July 31 he would be out 6-8 weeks but he instead missed nearly 12.
"It felt good," Hansbrough said. "I've been wanting to get out there for awhile. My shin felt fine. There's no timetable on when I'm going to come back, just get out there and test it and see what happens."
Hansbrough will not be in uniform Friday night. O'Brien said the rookie must make it through several stages before being ready for game action. He'll participate in limited halfcourt activity for a few more days. If he responds well, the workload will increase – and will continue to do so in increments barring any setbacks.
"We'll look at him doing things like this for three days," said O'Brien. "If he's able to sustain this we'll up his halfcourt minutes and if he's able to sustain that we'll start getting him into the fullcourt."
Not only must Hansbrough regain his game conditioning but familiarity with the offensive and defensive schemes.
"It's totally different when you get out there and actually run the offense versus watching it in practice," Hansbrough said. "It was kind of a learning experience but I remembered a lot of the plays from summer league and stuff like that, so that helped."
Hansbrough missed the first two games of his senior season at UNC after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right shin, and those were the first games he missed in his college career. He sat out two more games after turning his left ankle. For a player so rugged and durable throughout college, the lengthy idle period was a test of patience.
"It was tough but I want to get back to myself," Hansbrough said. "I want to help out the team. If that means me watching them for awhile and getting healthy and then coming out there, that's what I had to do. …
"I wouldn't expect me to be out there tomorrow. There's still no timetable for when I'm going to be back. We're just taking it day-by-day and adding a little bit more and more."
Free throw disparity a sign of aggression
Opponents have outscored the Pacers by 51 points from the free-throw line in six preseason games, an average deficit of 8.5, which more than doubles last season's average deficit of 4.0 per game.O'Brien attributes increased defensive intensity as a primary contributor.
"What we try to do defensively in the preseason is get the aggressiveness and then wean back the fouling," he said. "You can't ever, in the middle of the year, go from a non-aggressive team to an aggressive team. You have to establish the aggressiveness and figure out how not to foul.
"We had a problem with fouling last year but I would suspect in the regular season there will not be the fouling called that we experienced."
The Pacers rank ninth in field-goal percentage defense (.419) but 30th in points allowed (110.8)
Hill looking forward to playing in Assembly Hall
George Hill could've played all of his college home games at Assembly Hall but the Broad Ripple High standout opted instead to sign with IUPUI. Now entering his second season with the Spurs, Hill welcomes the opportunity to play on the Indiana University campus against the Pacers Friday night.
"Hopefully, we can pack it out in Indiana," Hill said in an interview on the Spurs' website. "I got recruited out of high school by (former I.U. coach) Mike Davis. I didn't want to go there because my cousin Robert Vaden went there, I wanted to stay close to my grandfather (Gilbert Edison), things like that.
"I'm always happy to go back home. Any time you can go back home, especially this being my first time playing at Assembly Hall other than AAU, I'm happy to do that."
After averaging 5.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists, shooting .403 overall and .329 from the 3-point line as a rookie, Hill has been the Spurs' second-leading scorer in the preseason, averaging 14.3 points on .553 shooting, including .615 (8-of-13) from the 3-point line.
"Any time you can have a year under your belt," Hill said, "it's always going to give you a whole bunch of confidence coming back in because you know what to expect."
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