No one knows Tyler Hansbrough’s moves, or his temper, better than a mostly anonymous North Carolina teammate who has spent the past three years as his personal punching bag.
Surry Wood has the cuts, bruises, stitches and concussion to prove it. But he has no complaints about a role that few will see, yet many envy. He is one of a handful of walk-ons on the North Carolina roster who spend each day being pounded by the regulars in practice and each night on the Tar Heels’ bench hoping for a blowout so he can spend a minute or two on the court.
Wood and the rest of the so-called blue squad of walk-ons will have a front-row seat when the Tar Heels meet Kansas in the N.C.A.A. tournament semifinals Saturday night in San Antonio. And if all goes well, he may actually earn a line in the box score.
But either way, he is content to have contributed to a team that may win a national championship.
“I definitely feel like I’m a part of it,” Wood, a senior, said Tuesday as he sat in a chair on the sideline at Dean Smith Center. “Getting to prepare these guys every day, you definitely know you’re part of the program when you get to run out, put the jersey on.”
That is the easy part. But it is not so easy in practice. Apparently, Hansbrough, a consensus all-American forward, does not have an off switch there, either.
“Surry’s definitely taken his beatings,” Hansbrough said. “Every once in a while he’ll come to practice, we’re like, ‘Man, where’d you get that bruise, Surry?’ He goes: ‘It’s from you. The elbow you gave me the other day.’ But it’s Surry’s job. He’s there pushing us every day.”
Wood is not allowed to hit back, though. He once received a stern warning when he accidentally elbowed Danny Green. No fouling Hansbrough, either. But Wood happily recalls the broken finger Hansbrough sustained while trying to guard him awhile back.
“I don’t think he’ll ever be able to wear a ring,” Wood said. “I got him pretty good. He’ll always remember that.”
Wood, who grew up in nearby Raleigh as a Tar Heels fan, played Division III basketball at Hampden-Sydney in Virginia for a season before transferring to North Carolina in 2004. Through tryouts against other students, he won a job on the junior-varsity squad four years ago and earned a spot on the varsity team in 2005-6. He has played 78 minutes in his career.
But Wood has been rewarded for his efforts. Williams inserted him into the starting lineup on Senior Night in March — the only start of his career.
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