The Nevada Sagebrush

Tyrone Hanson

Former Nevada basketball forward Tyrone Hanson will play for his third team in four seasons after he was dismissed from the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.

Hanson said he will play at Jackson State University for the 2009-10 season.

Hanson played at Nevada during the 2006-07 season. As a freshman, he showed glimpses of being a solid player as he averaged 1.6 points and one rebound per game in 8.1 minutes played per game. He played in all 30 games and seemed to be headed for an even more successful sophomore campaign before he was dismissed from the team because he violated team rules.

Then-Nevada head basketball coach Mark Fox dismissed Hanson from the team, but he also talked to former Wolf Pack assistant coach Josh Newman, who was the head coach at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and got Hanson a spot on Newman’s team.

Hanson sat out the 2007-08 season before he played with the Lions for the 2008-09 year.

Hanson played in 22 games and averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Hanson did not play in the latter part of the season.

“Me and coach Newman weren’t getting along so I stopped playing like the last five games of the season,” he said.

Hanson added that it was a not an incident which got him kicked off the team.

“Towards the end of the season, (Newman and I) were kind of bumping heads,” he said. “I guess he didn’t like my attitude. I guess he thought I was kind of selfish. That was something with me and him where we kind of bumped heads and we kind of got into it at practice and that’s why I stopped playing.”

Newman told a different story.

“I don’t think that’s accurate,” he said. “He was dismissed from the team for reasons similar to the reasons why he was dismissed from Nevada.”

Although he dismissed Hanson from his team, Newman was sad to see him go.

“You never want to see a guy fail,” Newman said. “This was a really good second chance for Tyrone and was a good shot for him to succeed and flourish, but due to a violation of team rules and team policies, he was dismissed.”

Hanson said he plans on leaving UA Fort Smith at the end of the season and playing basketball at Jackson State.

“I decided to go to Jackson State because of my relationship with the head coach,” he said. “He’s a pretty good coach and I know it’d be a better way for me to get to my main goal of making the (National Basketball Association). I know by playing for him, he’s going to give me the exposure and give me the playing time. It’s basically going to be like my team and I got a better shot of going to the NBA. It’s basically a business move. I just needed to get to the next level.”

Hanson admitted playing for three teams in four years has changed the impression he gives off.

“I know my image is kind of ruined,” he said. “A lot of people think I’m some type of thug. But people are going to think what they want to think, but the people that’s around me and really understand me, they know what type of person I am. I can’t really change people’s opinions. I know that I’m still doing what I have to do. I’m still being successful. I’m still going to school for free. I’m still doing what I want. I’m still able to play the game that I love.”

Juan Lopez can be reached at jlopez@nevadasagebrush.com.

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