It would seem as if the only drama going on at the NBA's pre-draft camp is the status of the three North Carolina Tar Heels that declared for the draft.
Heels fans have been vocal about wanting these guys back and how they aren't ready for The League. It seems that UNC guard Ty Lawson is kind of coming to this conclusion, as well:
North Carolina guard Ty Lawson said Wednesday if he's not confident he'll go 20th or better in the NBA draft, he'll pull out of the process and return to North Carolina for his junior season.
He said his challenge this week at the NBA pre-draft camp is convincing teams his left ankle is healed and showing he'll take -- and make -- jump shots when the opportunity is there.
This goes against Lawson's statement that he doesn't like the "test the waters" phrase since it implies that he's not seriously ready to go to the NBA. However, it is the first nugget of information that Carolina fans have been wanting to hear.
The other is this: guard Wayne Ellington really struggled in his first pre-draft game on Wednesday. He hit just one of his five shots from behind the arc (remember, the NBA arc) and committed six turnovers.
Add this in with the fact that forward Danny Green may not even get drafted (he also struggled in his first camp game) and Tar Heel fans may get what they want: a loaded team ready for a NCAA Tournament championship run.
This is a team that will lose just two players (third string point guard Quentin Thomas and backup power forward Alex Stepheson) from a Final Four squad that was ranked #1 for much of the season. They will bring in a nice recruiting class of 7-footer Tyler Zeller, bruising power forward Ed Davis, point guards Larry Drew and JC Watts. Davis and Drew will fill the rolls that Stepheson and Thomas left behind.
They will also get senior point guard Bobby Frasor back. Frasor missed much of the season after tearing up his knee in December and will add leadership and a defensive presence.
Oh, and reigning National Player Of The Year winner Tyler Hansbrough will be back, too.
Add Lawson, Ellington and Green to that team (along with glue guy Marcus Ginyard, forward Deon Thompson, gunner William Graves) and it would be loaded.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-13-2008 @ 12:39PM
Todd Morris said...
Both of these guys need Roy William for another couple of years. They aren't ready yet. Someone who really cares about them needs to step up to teh plate and tell them they would eb making ahuge mistake to go now. Their stock will rise in the future
Reply