Travis Hansen

A fairly athletic wing player with a very nice perimeter jumper, Hansen has reportedly had some interest in making his way back to the NBA at some point—he spent the 03/04 season with the Atlanta Hawks—but with each year that goes by that seems less likely. Hansen has a very valuable Russian passport in his possession and is fresh off signing a two year contract to play for Ettore Messina at Real Madrid this past summer. Combine that with the fact that he’ll be 32 before the end of this season and you can understand why he’s clearing his spot on this list for someone else.

The former BYU wing Hansen was one of the most consistent pieces for Tau Vitoria in the Final Four. After a difficult beginning to his European career (bringing an American mentality, he was obsessed with being some sort of go-to guy playing off the dribble, which is not his best strength), he finally figured out his role somewhere during the past season, becoming a very valuable contributor on a squad that already has other well-established offensive references.

Hansen now puts his excellent athleticism at the disposal of his team, being the best perimeter defender (usually taking care of the best perimeter rival) and rebounder (particularly in the offensive glass) on Tau, while delivering good intensity and consistently knocking down his shots whenever he’s open. This is what he provided against Maccabi, even if more devotion to try and keep Anthony Paker off the ball would have certainly been useful. He reproduced a similar role in the game for the third place against FC Barcelona, with better results for his team.

Hansen is a player who might interest some NBA teams. His athleticism makes his complementary role fairly easy to translate to the American league. His biggest problem probably revolves around his size. At 6-6, it’s not sure that he will be able to play SG, giving his lack of skills at this position. His ball-handling skills and general slashing game are just average, and he’s not a great passer. Hansen can shoot off the dribble with high elevation given his fantastic leaping ability, but preferably after easy moves; he doesn’t look capable of being a consistent scoring force, regardless of some remarkable offensive stretches shown during the preseason. Therefore, regardless of his size (he partially makes up for it with his explosive leaping ability), he looks more suited for the SF spot, which usually requires less offensive prominence, but hard work and good execution, which he provides on a regular basis.

Travis Hansen, a former Atlanta Hawk, looked nice in this Cup. His excellent athleticism always makes him stand out on the court. But he’s also hitting his open shots these days and delivering a very nice effort. Still, he’s a complementary wing who can’t create much game off the dribble. But it wouldn’t be strange to see some NBA team willing to add him to its rotation.