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Toronto Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough (50) fouls on Atlanta Hawks forward Elton Brand (7) at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Atlanta 109-102.John E. Sokolowski

The stat line for Tyler Hansbrough read just five points and two rebounds in the Toronto Raptors' season opener, yet coach Dwane Casey came off the floor raving about how big an impact the big man had.

There's a subtle change in the 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward as he enters his second season with the Raptors, and it's paying off for the team, even if it doesn't show up on the stats sheet.

After the Raptors acquired him in free agency before last season, Hansbrough was a big contributor off the bench early on, but his minutes dwindled, particularly after the team acquired Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. Hansbrough didn't fully grasp Casey's offence last year and often focused too much on scoring. Known for his tenacious energy in college at North Carolina and as an NBA youngster in Indiana, Hansbrough would be the first to admit sometimes he has been "physical to a fault." He didn't always channel the energy properly in his first season in Toronto.

So he went into the off-season with a list of things to improve and had his hardest working summer yet.

"I think he just didn't understand last year – most new guys feel they have to score to contribute," Casey said. "He's figured out now if I screen, if I defend, if I rebound, that's helping the team and helping with more playing time."

Hansbrough turned heads early in the preseason when the hard-nosed big man drained a three-point shot. He had taken just 12 attempts from behind the arc over his entire five years in the NBA, and never made any of them. Hansbrough had worked on it with shooting coach Mike Hollis in North Carolina over the summer. But his improvements ran deeper than becoming a big guy who just might shoot the three when everyone least expects it.

"I think I have a better understanding of what I need to do to help the team as far as positioning," said Hansbrough, 28. "I'm paying more attention; I feel l know the offence a lot better. We went over some things I could improve on – definitely my shot – but I spent more time studying and seeing the things I could improve, like spacing and knowing the plays."

In the first game of the season on Wednesday, Hansbrough was the first called off the bench when starting big man Jonas Valanciunas picked up two early fouls. Casey watched him bring great physicality to the paint through his 20 minutes, get in on rebounds, block a shot, protect the rim, set great screens and create space for teammates to penetrate and score.

"He knows the spots to go to now that the ball will find him, and he has accepted that instead of ball-hunting, he's learning now that if he sets a good screen, he's going to be open; and if he gets to the dunker spot, he's going to be open," Casey said. "There are lots of focus things he is doing right now that are very noticeable to the coaching staff."

Hansbrough's dominant college career made him the Atlantic Coast Conference's career leading scorer and netted him the 2008 Wooden Award as the top U.S. college player. He was drafted 13th overall by the Pacers in 2009, and scored a career-high 767 points for them in his second season. Last year, off the bench for the Raptors, he scored 312 and, like any player, wished for more minutes.

He since changed his mindset about how to make an impact.

"The biggest thing was being open to change and not having a hard mind about doing things differently and accepting that 'hey, you need to improve on things,' and I'm more willing this year," Hansbrough said. "Everybody has big aspirations, but I'm glad to be where I am right now, I love my teammates and I really couldn't be in a better situation. I'm on a great team with a lot of guys I really like, and that's pretty special in the NBA."

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