Maybe thats because they arent lottery material

I agree that all three could use some improvement. This year just is not a favorable draft for all three. Hansbrough has to contend with Love, Both Lopez's, Ryan Anderson, Jordan and thats just to name a few. There are a number of players who are bigger, taller and stronger and unfortunately nba execs look at body before mind. My guess is Hnsbrough would slip to the 2nd round more than likely.

Ellington is simply too frail, I know he put on some weight this season and got more involved with driving to the basket and rebounding however he may likely need to put on another 5-10 lbs. Also he is still extremely streaky and needs to learn how to create his own shot more effectively.

Lawson in my opinion is the least prepared, he's jet fast but not overly creative with the ball, his speed gives him opportunities that won't be there in the NBA. His shot is improving but not reliable. Lastly his is 5-11, and with players like rose, bayless and mayo and gordon in the draft, his chances of going in the first round are not guarunteed. The game against Kansas did not fare well for all three, partly affecting their stock.

as far as the "hype" comments, i guess hansbrough has been "hype" since his freshman year.  what doesn't make that comment valid is that he's put up relatively the same numbers in each of his college seasons.  so, "hype"... i think not.

hansbrough is the only one of the 3 that should even consider leaving only because he's the more consistent player offensively, but in reality, they should all stay.  the money is available now, but waiting it out will only increase the chances of a better draft selection and a bigger paycheck later.  don't make the same mistake as brandan wright or joe forte or the laundry list of other heels who made the jump too early.  i guess guys think that since they wear the unc jerseys they're all the next jordan but it just doesn't happen that way.  stay in school, get your education, and let the future take care of itself.

just a sidenote, there's always the talk of a career ending injury that would end a player's chances of ever playing in the nba.  what kind of injury has anyone witnessed that is career ending?  i've seen guys go down with a torn acl, which ends your season, but as far as i can remember or can think of, i can't think of someone whose career was ended due to an injury.  anyone know of someone or some injury?

OK, I knew this would get it started again, thats why I prefaced it with "I'm sorry".

I like the tarheels team, I really do, I like the way Hansbrough plays and I agree with the line of thinking that he will be a player in the NBA for a long time, not a star player but a player.

The facts remain;

1) The tarheels were overrated all year long, they were #1 75% of the year and lost in the Final Four.

2) The tarheels dont have as high quality (NBA) players as other schools in the country did, particularly the schools in the Final Four, who had lottery material.

3) Going back to the story, where I made the point that, "it's as if they are doing the NBA a favor", granted...I'll give you, I read into the tone of the article.  Maybe I shouldnt have done that.  Bottom line, are they lottery picks or not, if so, they go (like Wright last year), if not, they are not sure.  I'm so tired of hearing Roy beat around the bush, THEY ARENT LOTTERY PICKS.  Just say it.  Thats what makes this decision hard, because they arent lottery picks.  UNC didnt have any lottery picks this year on their team.   Like I said, "I'm sorry, its just the truth".  If your not a lottery pick, your doing it for yourself, not for the NBA, the NBA wants the talent that comes from lottery picks, they are looking for starters, not role players or backups.

This is the most ridiculous conversation.  Last time I looked a run to the Final Four was a pretty good year.  Did the Heels have weaknesses?  Absolutely.  Were they an overrated team?  Hell no.  Didn't show up against Kansas, flat out.  And Kansas is too good of a team to do that against.  They deserved to lose that game.

I hope all three guys return next year, but I wouldn't fault any of them for going.  I do believe all of them could improve their draft status by returning.  Lots of $$$$ waiting out there no matter where you get drafted.  Think about it if they do return:

Lawson, Ellington, Ginyard, Thompson, Hansbrough

Green, Frasor, Drew, Graves, Stephenson, Davis, Zeller

Forget about it!

Let me get this straight now Carolina was overrated all year?

They were just lucky that every team they faced in the acc tournament and every team they destroyed in the 64 were also way overrated.

UNC never got off the bus against kansas, they were down 32pts at 1 time and rallied back to 4pts before they got cold again. I thought that once they woke up they played great.

Roy coached like sh*t and he should of abandoned the half court trap immediately they killed us with that.

Point is this, we'll be back next year with these 3 guys or without. Not to many teams can say that every year. Really barely any, including memphis, and Kansas.

UNC should have won that game?  Uh, yeah, watch the game again.  KU should have beat them by 40.  KU didn't just have more swagger, they had more talent also.

You UNC fans should stop treating the KU game like an aberration and just admit that your team got beat by a better team this time.

If Hansbrough can't stop relying on the refs for calls, he'll be chewed up and spit out in the NBA.  They can play pretty physical in that league.

Hilby and Halo...the facts remain:

1)  Your Memphis Tigers were just as over-rated as anybody this season.  They play in a sub-par mid-major conference in which they went 16 and 0 and had only 1 scare.  Then almost lost before reaching the final 4 while Carolina cruised into the final 4.

2)  Memphis lost in the title game because they can't/couldn't/wouldn't hit clutch free throws.  Kansas is the better team but Memphis choking on free throws helped the Hawks stay within range.

3)  Memphis has been a contending team for the last 3 seasons.  Woooopadeedooo!!!  Bobby Knight referred to them as Memphis State 4 times in a 1-minute discussion on ESPN one night during the tournament.  Proves they've made little to no impact on the college basketball world in my/your/Bobby Knight's lifetime.

Let's see if your Tigers are a team to be reckoned with for 5 to 10 straight years, or if they just slink back into oblivion, where they had been for the last 20 years prior to 2006.

Take your "overrated" and "hyped" arguments and use them on a team that deserves them...like your Memphis Tigers.

Hey...how did Keith Lee fare in the NBA??

Cane...I for one have admitted that Kansas was a better team.

But for you and every other alleged college basketball fan to think Hansbrough relies on the refs to be able to compete in college shows your lack of knowledge.

He gets beat up on a nightly basis...maybe you should watch a UNC game...there are more non-calls than calls...and anybody going to the NBA will be chewed up and spit out if they think the refs are going to help them out because of their name...at least for the first 5 to 7 seasons.

BTW, since 4ever brought up Memphis. 

I believe I can honestly say that my opinion all year was that Memphis had the best squad.  I believed evidently, in error, that they were better than Kansas, but I have to admit I didnt watch Kansas much.

I know tarheel fans may disagree with this, but I watched plenty of tarheel games and I felt like Memphis was a better team all year long, and since they made it to the final, and played back and forth in the final, I think its safe to say they were better than UNC, since UNC didnt make it to the final. 

Spin it how you want, but, at the least, you have to admit two things;

1) You didnt know much about Memphis (probably from not watching them much).

2) They were better than you thought they were.

Using the whole conference argument now is just plain stupid.  Memphis is in the same boat as UNLV in the early 90's, they are loaded, and it doesnt matter what conference you belong to when your loaded.  Unfortuneatly they were unable to beat Kansas, and congrats to them, they proved they were the best team in a historic final four where the four best teams made it in.