This article is reprinted with permission of the Salem (Mass.) Gazette. It ran on November 24, 2010. Learn more about the Gazette and see the original article by clicking here.

By Bill Kipouras/ WickedLocalSalem.com
Wicked Local Salem/ Salem Gazette
Last update Nov 24, 2010

Salem, Mass. — Chris Hanson started the basketball season at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H. as the school's fifth all-time scoring leader.

The crafty senior shot-maker from Salem is right on target to become No. 1, especially since he's a top-notch marksman from outside the three-point arc.

"He's undoubtedly one of the best shooters we've had at Salem High and the same goes for the (North Shore) area," said Tom Doyle, Hanson's high school coach.

"He's gifted," Doyle asserted. "He's worked hard as it."

Hanson has averaged 16.9 points per game in 78 appearances in three seasons, including 75 starts. The college's all-time standard is 1,654. At his current pace, could break the record this season — he needs to score about 330 points.

Hanson, however, is simply not as interested in point production as he is in winning games — and perhaps winning a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 3 berth for the first time in the history of the Daniel Webster Eagles.

"We did get to the ECACs [Eastern College Athletic Conference], which was a nice achievement. The NCAAs would be even better," said Hanson, who was his college's Athlete of the Year as a sophomore. "I don't see why not."

If he succeeds in some of his ambitions it could pave the way for possible tryouts overseas.

"Another country, playing ball? I'd love that, it's been in the back of my mind," Hanson said. "I don't think of it all the time, nothing like that. But I do know my coach here [Dave Faucher] has good contacts and some of his kids went over when he was at Dartmouth College. I don't want that to spoil my focus. If I do break it [the record], I break it. I believe I can, barring injury. I've never felt better."

Hanson and ex-Keene State star Dave Stantial of Beverly led an undefeated team and took turns dunking while winning the senior division in the Peabody Rec Twilight League. Ex-UMass Amherst ace Anthony Anderson was also aboard. Not one game was close.

The 21-year-old Hanson grew an inch to almost 6-foot-3 for his final college season.

"I don't think that's going to make a difference, really," he laughed.

Sticking with the Eagles

Hanson had a hard decision to make two years ago: whether to remain a student-athlete at Daniel Webster.

That's because the coach who recruited him for DWC, Jeremy Courier, an Endicott College product, had departed for Pfeiffer College in North Carolina. Hanson wasn't too happy with the situation. He loved Courier, and Courier even offered to have him to come along to Pfeiffer. Hanson considered it, but it was too far for him, even if it was Division 2 and Hanson could get scholarship money.

"It would have been tough leaving home because I started here," said Hanson, who has also worked construction for his uncle, Jim Turcotte.

Courier's move came during Hanson's freshman year and DWC offered Dave Faucher the job. Faucher had spent two decades in the Ivy League, coaching at Dartmouth College.

"I didn't know who he was and figured a new coach would be changing everything around," Hanson said. "I thought about Salem State, which had recruited me, and a few others in D-2 and D-3. But I didn't know if I qualified. I had got permission to look around, but couldn't talk to any coaches. My mom called Chris Harvey at Salem State and told him that I was available. Mr. Harvey asked who my coach would be and said, 'Dave Faucher? Chris, stay where you are. He's a good man.'"

Hanson found out that was true, but not before some soul-searching.

"I wanted to transfer to Salem because my high school teammate, Nick Linear, was there. We had fun at Salem, qualified for the state playoffs and won our conference," he said. "We reached the third round one year and played our best game, against, but still lost to Central Catholic, which had an All-American. …Phil Rowe, who used to be the assistant athletic director at Daniel Webster, and went to Endicott, was another person I checked with. He's now the coach there."

So what determined he stayed at DWC?

"Dave Faucher," Hanson quickly responded. "I love the coach now. He's a good friend. We're close. He's a great coach and we have fun. He's friendly to everyone. … He can be tough, but he's not mean. He likes to build bridges, not burn them."

A product of Salem

Hanson grew up in the Mack Park neighborhood of Salem, and will likely be inducted one day into the Salem High Hall of Fame.

Tom Doyle, his high school coach, took Hanson's tape and sent it all over New England, and landed him at DWC. Doyle was Salem State's career best three-point shooter, so he had plenty of wisdom to share with Hanson.

Hanson played AAU ball for Rich Sweeney and the Northeast Hurricanes and also benefited as a pupil of ex-Ohio Stater Sean Connolly for three years. Connolly, now the coach at St. John's Prep, is one of the state's premier all-time players at the high school level.

Faucher appreciates having Hanson on the team.

"I called him when I got the job and even spoke to his family," Faucher said. "I told Chris where we're headed. The phone conversation was enough for him. It takes time for any new situation to develop a new trust. He knows I'm a straight shooter."

Faucher, a one-time assistant under the late Gerry Friel at the University of New Hampshire, said he had never seen Hanson work as hard as he did in the first two days of practice this fall.

"I love him," the coach said, "but I'm going to send him anywhere if he's not going to guard and sit back. I hope the maturing process takes place because he hasn't reached his potential yet with the demand of playing. He's got to understand that, and not dally around. There is an effort required."

To Hanson, that sounds like a challenge.

"Chris has a ton of ability, strong and quick to shoot the ball," Doyle said. "Our opponents had to respect him three feet beyond the three-point line. That's how accurate he was in high school. The attention he got opened things up for the others."

That's one thing that remained a constant at Daniel Webster.

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