UNC Tar Heels: NCAA men's basketball, 2009

Four-time All-American Tyler Hansbrough says he never regretted returning to North Carolina for his senior season - not when a stress reaction in his right shin sidelined him at the start of the season, not during the constant expectations and pressure that followed the 2008-09 team.

After all, dealing with all of that build-up to winning the title last April prepared the Indiana Pacers rookie for where he is now:

"Dealing with all of that really helped me when I had to sit out again to open this season [because of shin troubles, again]. Had I not had to deal with it before, I don't think I would have dealt with it as well - but this time, I knew what I had to do, how I had to rest, how I had to prepare.

"Sure, there are a lot of expectations with being an NBA rookie ... but none of that compares to last season, when fans and media and everyone expected so much out of us, and we expected so much out of ourselves.

"Finally winning the title, going through all of that together, really made my teammates and I closer. There's a bond there ... and we still talk all the time. Not everyone can say they are a 'national champion,' but we are. And I think all of those experiences we went through together prepared us for now."