Lawson, Green, Ellington to return to UNC

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Lawson, Green, Ellington to return to UNC

By Dane Huffman

Jun 17, 2008

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With a single statement Monday, North Carolina made an even larger one.

The Tar Heels announced Monday that Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green will all return to the basketball team in 2008-09, joining national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough.

Suddenly, the Heels have one of the deepest, and best, Carolina teams ever.

At 4:43 p.m., UNC emailed out that the trio would return to a team that will now be stocked with talent. The NBA deadline for declaring whether to remain in the draft passed at 5 p.m. Monday.

Carolina loses only reserve point guard Quentin Thomas, a senior last season, and forward Alex Stepheson, who decided to transfer.

That means all five starters – Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington, Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson – will return, a rarity for elite programs.
Not only that, Carolina expects guard Bobby Frasor to be recovered from a knee injury, and the Tar Heels have four recruits coming in. Carolina will use the maximum number of 13 scholarships.

Arriving in the fall are 6-11 forward Tyler Zeller, 6-8 forward Ed Davis, 6-foot guard Larry Drew and 6-4 guard Justin Watts. Scout.com has Zeller and Davis rated as five-star recruits and Drew a four-star recruit.

How much they would be needed right away changed dramatically on Monday after the three veterans decided to return.

Lawson, Ellington and Green had traveled to Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in May for the NBA pre-draft camp. Ellington and Green did not appear to be first-round picks, but Lawson seemed confident he would go in the first round. And the NBA’s director of scouting, Marty Blake, said Lawson would be a likely first-round selection.

Blake, reached Monday at his Alpharetta, Ga., office, praised Lawson's quickness and said Lawson had been impressive in the pre-draft camp, but wondered how much better Lawson would get. He also said he thinks Ellington needs to get stronger and that Green didn't have a chance to fully showcase himself in the camp because of injuries.

However, Lawson has had some injury issues in his workouts and also was arrested for drinking before driving. He blew a .03, well below the legal limit for drunk driving, but is only 20 years old. Lawson told reporters in Washington, D.C., that he didn’t think it would affect his status.

"After a long and exhaustive process of gathering information and sharing it with these youngsters, I stepped back and asked them to make their own decisions,” UNC coach Roy Williams said in a statement on Monday afternoon. “I’m very pleased with their decisions because I get to coach them for another year. I’m also pleased that they went through the process and gained valuable information. It was reassuring that the feedback they got from the NBA teams is the same type of feedback our coaching staff has been giving them.

“It was a lengthy process, but one that is fair for these youngsters. Everyone should have the right to be evaluated in terms of possibly reaching his dreams. I feel strongly that all of these young men will eventually be NBA players. The timing was just not exactly right at this point. They had my 100 percent support throughout the process, regardless of which decision they might have made.”

Carolina went 36-3 in 2007-08, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and Tournament titles and reaching its 17th NCAA Final Four.

However, loads of talent isn't always a formula for a national title. The Tar Heels had an ultra-talented, but relatively thin, roster in 2005 and won a championship. But a deep, gifted UNC team in 1994 couldn't repeat its title effort of the year before.

Wayne Ellington statement

“After going through this process and gaining valuable information then discussing my future with my family as well as Coach Williams, it was an easy decision for me to come back to the University of North Carolina because of my love for the University and my teammates. I am looking forward to working toward our goal of winning a national championship.”

Danny Green statement

“I have decided to withdraw my name from the 2008 NBA Draft. The process of ‘testing the waters’ has given me valuable information and a great experience of what the NBA process is like. This was an easy decision for me because I’m going to enjoy my senior season with great teammates and our great coaching staff for one more year.”

Ty Lawson statement

“I have withdrawn from the 2008 Draft. The process of ‘testing the waters’ has given me valuable information about my draft status, and I have decided it would be better to return to school. I love school, my teammates and coaching staff. I look forward to playing next season and trying to win a national championship.”

Most Recent Comments

OH ROY AND HIS BOYS !!! WONDER WHICH STICKER HE WILL WEARING ON HIS SHIRT THIS COMING YEAR??? DUKE , STATE... THE PRESSURE WILL BE ON HIM HARD...

Give me a break! It's called having fun! Stop taking everything so seriously! UNC & Duke fans like to get under each other's skin, it's what makes the rivalry fun!
MECIA80

There's a level of fun in a rivalry, but 215+ posts byteh same 3-4 people saying the same crud they said last year, and the year before that, and the one beofere that and.. well you get the point. It's old, tired, immature, and annoying. Golo has groups, you people want to bash each other over a sports team you have no control of, make a group and do it there, but for the love quit acting like a bunch of children in the public threads or atleast stay somewhat on topic. The last 200 posts I think have zero to do with Lawson, Ellington and Green returning and more to do with male/female(if there is such a thing) posturing about whose sack is fuller. All I see is a bunch of people with their Ignorant flags waving proudly above their heads.

OF REALLY THERE NOT READY MY EYE AFTER LAST YEAR IM SURE THEY LL BE JUST FINE AND KANSAS WONT MAKE IT ANY WHERE WITHOUT RUSH

Kansas was 07-08...this is 08-09

They aren't ready for the big time. Just ask Kansas.

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