Ben Hansbrough to Play For Notre Dame Next Season

Ben Hansbrough has made his decision public that he will transfer from Mississippi State to Notre Dame.  Hansbrough helped the Bulldogs advance to the second round of the tournament, losing to Memphis in the round of thirty-two.  Hansbrough had 19 points in the 77-74 loss to the Tigers, in a game much closer than expected due to free throw shooting.  Ben is the younger brother of AP Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough, and averaged 10.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.6 APG for Mississippi State.  He made his final decision of Notre Dame over Purdue and Oklahoma State.  Hansbrough will sit out a year and play for the Fighting Irish as a junior in the 2009-10 season.

I think this is a good move by Hansbrough and an even better addition for Notre Dame.  Hansbrough had been saying that he didn't feel comfortable at Mississippi State, so why not transfer to a better situation for yourself.  Notre Dame is more successful program than Mississippi State and Hansbrough proved that he could play at that level by being a consistent scorer.  Although both Mississippi State and Notre Dame finished second in their respective conferences, Notre Dame did it in a much better and deeper conference, the Big East. When Hansbrough actually plays in two years, the Big East Player of the Year, Luke Harangody will be a senior, which could make Notre Dame very dangerous.  They have already been projected as a top 10 team for next season, so when their best player is a senior, they should be right there again in two years from now.