As expected, North Carolina junior guards Wayne Ellington and Tywon Lawson have declared for the NBA draft in the wake of the Tar Heels’ NCAA championship earlier this month.
Wayne Ellington summed it up best, saying “There’s no better way to end it than the way we did.”
Both Ellington and Lawson declared for last year’s draft but opted to return to school, meaning they will not be able to rescind the decision this year.
Ellington will always have a special place in Tar Heel hearts, as his long-range bombing helped propel the Heels to their 5th NCAA title and earned Ellington the most outstanding player designation in the Final Four, evoking memories of a similar run by Donald Williams in Carolina’s 1993 championship season.
There was not much of a feeling for Ellington’s decision. It makes sense for Ellington to leave school now because his stock will never be higher, but he did not play his way into the lottery as Sean May did during the 2005 title run. Ellington will be an early second-rounder regardless of whether or not he returned for his senior season.
Meanwhile, Lawson’s decision was the worst-kept secret in Chapel Hill. Most people figured Lawson would have stayed in last year’s draft but for an inopportune traffic citation (has anyone sent that cop a thank you card?). But it wasn’t until the game-winning shot at Florida State that really seemed to turn Lawson from a somewhat underachieving hotshot to an unstoppable force and ACC Player of the Year.
Because of his amazing second-half and tournament performance, some have been quick to put him in the pantheon of greatest Tar Heels, and I don’t know that I’m ready to make that leap quite yet. For most of his time in Chapel Hill he was a talented but underwhelming point guard who was most noted for his opponent’s ability to torch him for mucho points. But then the game-winner against the Noles seemed to knock something loose, and (to paraphrase Annie Savoy in “Bull Durham”) for one incredible February and March Lawson played with grace and style and poetry.
I think both Lawson and Ellington will struggle in the league. Lawson is undersized and his speed is negated in the pros with a 24-second shot clock and a lot of clear-out stuff. Ellington is just one of 300 six-foot-four guys who can shoot. Ask J.J. Redick how the bench tastes.
But both Wayne and Ty have done their bit for UNC and there is no expectation for them to stay. It’s time to earn a paycheck if you can, and you leave with the thanks and admiration of a grateful Tar Heel Nation.
