Posted 1/22/08
Curt Hanson is a sophomore guard on the UW-Platteville basketball team from Deerfield, Ill. He set a school record as a freshman by making 54 percent of his three-point shots and this year leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game.
How is the season going for you and for the team?
"It's been good. The team is having a lot of fun, and I'm having a lot of fun. We're playing well right now, so we have to keep this energy up."
Individually, you are known for your three-point shooting and have kept up a pace of shooting better than 50 percent for two years now. How much do you have to work at that? "I've been shooting since I was really young. My dad would always take me out and shoot with me. I've put up as many threes as possible in my life just to make the shot the same every time."
You may be the most competitive player around. You don't like to lose, do you?
"I hate losing. No matter what game I'm playing with my family or friends, I always want to win. I think that is why this whole team is good because we all have competitive attitudes all the way through the 20th guy.
Have you always had this competitive streak?
"It runs through the whole family. We always want to win everything. That's probably what's good and bad about us. My dad was a track athlete at Wisconsin, and both my parents are phy ed teachers."
What do you see for the Pioneers the rest of the season?
"I see a lot of good things for us this season, and we have all of our guys back next year. Whatever we do this season, we hope to do 10 times better next season."
Do you ever talk about the tradition at UW-Platteville and where you want to fit in?
"Almost every day, we think about the 1990s, Bo Ryan and how good those teams were. We want to bring back that tradition to this great University."
Is that what attracted you here?
"Definitely. I knew about the tradition, how competitive this league is and all the kids on the team. That all attracted me here."
What would you like to do with your degree?
"I want to be a physical education teacher and be a high school basketball coach, kind of following in my parents' footsteps."
If you were coaching a player like yourself, what would you tell him?
"I'd tell him to keep working hard, shoot when you're open and learn how to play some defense!"
Interview by Sports Information Director Paul Erickson