Without equivocation, Hansbrough is the Irish go-to guy. He is the team's undisputed leader, its Mr. Clutch. When things reach critical mass on the court and the pressure intensifies, it's usually the 6-3 senior guard who steps up and seizes the initiative.

While others may hesitate, blink, or grow wobbly in the knees, the reliable Ben willingly meets challenging circumstances head-on. When games are on the line, when they are there to be won or lost, Hansbrough doesn't shrink from the responsibility of determining the outcome. On the contrary, he embraces the opportunity.

Hansbrough is not the sort to pass the buck or, generally, the ball when Irish fortunes hang in the balance. He wants, no, make that demands the rock during crunch time. In the crucible of competition, Ben looks fearless. No situation or predicament seems capable of intimidating him.

Bring it on appears to be his credo. He relishes the chance to be the hero. He'll gladly put himself front and center and let the chips fall where they may.

Hansbrough is far from a boastful player. He doesn't resort to smack. Usually, he prefers to let his actions do the talking. But that doesn't mean Ben is strictly the strong and silent type. Far from it. When required, Hansbrough isn't shy about making his presence felt.

If he feels it necessary, Hansbrough can be as effective and penetrating with his verbiage as he is with his dribble drive. Sometimes Ben will use his words to inspire, cajole and motivate his teammates. On other occasions, he isn't reluctant to be critical of whomever, including himself, if that's what it takes to produce results.

If the Irish need a push, be it verbal or otherwise, Hansbrough is probably the guy doing the prodding.

Just peer into his eyes and you can see that intensity rages within. Make no mistake, this is no Gentle Ben. Hansbrough plays with a perceptible fire and passion. He is the fierce competitor personified. In the best sense of the word and not to indicate any inclination towards dirty play or lack of sportsmanship, Hansbrough can be seen as being chippy. In other words, he wants it bad, he won't back down and he'll go as hard as anyone to see to it that his team succeeds.

Coming into this year, Hansbrough was thought to be basically a stroker with good range. A guy who would spot up, knock down the jumper and put up solid numbers. But the inference was that he was one-dimensional and somewhat limited. Versatility was supposedly foreign to him.

Oh my, how Hansbrough has popped that perception. Instead of being a one-trick pony, the Irish senior has shown himself to be proficient in multiple areas.

As expected, Hansbrough has singed the nets to great effect as evidenced by his 17.3 points per game average. In 14 of the 25 games Notre Dame has contested, Ben has paced the Domers in scoring.

Revealingly, many of his buckets have come from spots not considered to be in his wheelhouse. Namely, from in tight or from mid-range. Hansbrough has clearly shot down the notion that he's strictly a long-distance bombardier.

But where Hansbrough has really opened up some eyes and surprised many onlookers is with his dribble penetration and passing acumen. Not believed to be a threat as a ball-handler, Ben has proved otherwise.

While working the rock, Hansbrough has shown he can deflate pressure and bust containment. Even more impressive, Ben has made it a habit of breaking down defenses with his nifty dribbling. Thereby positioned in deep, Ben can elect to either take it to the rack or kick it off to a teammate for a high percentage shot.

As a result, the often unselfish Hansbrough leads the Irish in assists with 4.1 per game.

Armed with the skills of being able to deftly probe or pull up off the dribble, Hansbrough has become a real headache for the opposition. Its exceedingly difficult to neutralize Hansbrough because if you stop him in one area, there are other options he can readily explore. Attempting to guard him is now a daunting proposition. Simply stated, Ben has become a handful.

In almost every conceivable way, be it as a leader, scorer, assist-maker or clutch performer, Ben Hansbrough has advanced from being just good to being something special.

Notre Dame desperately needed Hansbrough to elevate his game this season and take it to the next level. ND's very success was greatly predicated on getting a more diversified and better Ben. Without a more dynamic Hansbrough, the Irish didn't figure to be much of a force in the rugged Big East Conference.

Well, the results are in. A statement has been made. Hansbrough has stepped up to such an extent; he is now being discussed as a serious candidate for league player of the year honors. With his well-rounded game functioning at near optimum, Hansbrough has driven the Domers to a No. 7 ranking that most roundball junkies thought was improbable if not flat out impossible. Hansbrough has literally willed the Irish above and beyond their supposed station.

So take note all you who live in merry old England and elsewhere. There's another Big Ben starting to make some noise. Only this one isn't a historical fixture in London.

Instead, he's a living and breathing hoopster who's being heard loud and clear throughout the world of college basketball.