"No one knows when Tyler Hansbrough will play in a game, but the Indiana Pacers rookie took a small step Thursday when he practiced for the first time this preseason.

Hansbrough has been out since the end of July resting a right shin injury that occurred during his senior season at North Carolina.

He was limited to half-court five-on-five drills Thursday.

"He did some really good things," coach Jim O'Brien said. "He's very aggressive, pretty aware of what we're trying to do. It was great to have him be in any live activity."

Hansbrough said it felt good to finally practice.

"I've been wanting to get out there for a while," he said. "It's totally different when you get out there and actually run the offense versus watching it in practice. It was kind of a learning experience, but I remembered a lot of the plays from summer league and stuff like that, so that helped.""