North Carolina basketball fans might want to mark their calendars and ABCers might want to brace themselves. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all decided Monday they were returning to Chapel Hill for the 2008-09 season.

That means the Tar Heels will have the same starting lineup intact from last season's squad, which won a school-record 36 games, the ACC championship and reached the Final Four. Plus, coach Roy Williams has added three McDonald's All Americans.

Williams was understandably happy with Monday's news.

"I'm very pleased with their decisions because I get to coach them for another year," Williams said in a statement released by UNC.

"I feel strongly that all of these young men will eventually be NBA players. The timing was just not exactly right at this point."

Lawson, Ellington and Green each entered the NBA Draft in early April but did not hire an agent, which allowed them to go through the evaluation process and retain their college eligibility. Lawson and Ellington, the starting backcourt, will be juniors. Green, the team's sixth man, will be a senior, as will national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough, who bypassed the NBA evaluation process entirely.

Lawson, Ellington and Green each participated in the NBA-sponsored draft camp at Orlando, Fla., on May 27-29 and worked out individually for several teams over the past two weeks.

It was a particularly eventful process for Lawson, who led UNC with 165 assists despite missing seven games with an injured ankle last season. Lawson, 20, was charged with driving after drinking and driving with a revoked license on June 6 in Chapel Hill. Two days later, he missed a scheduled workout with the Denver Nuggets.

Lawson said during the process he would stay in the draft if he was a top 20 pick.

"I have decided it would be better to return to school," Lawson said in a statement released by UNC. "I look forward to playing next season and trying to win a national championship."

Green, who averaged 11.5 points, injured his ankle and elbow during the Orlando camp. Despite the injuries, he worked out for Toronto, Cleveland and Chicago, among other teams, in hopes of playing his way into the first round. Ultimately, he decided another season of college would be better for his career.

"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," Green said in a statement released by the school.

With all three back in the fold, Williams returns his top six scorers from last season. The Heels won the East Regional but lost in the national semifinals to Kansas, the eventual national champion.

With that experience and new talent, the Heels aren't looking to just make the Final Four in Detroit.

"I am looking forward to working toward our goal of winning a national championship," Ellington said.

North Carolina clearly has the ingredients of a national championship team, but the Heels will face some challenges, says Dan Bonner, a longtime ACC TV analyst.

"Even when you return everybody and add no one, you can't be assured you will be great," he said. "People grow. People work harder. There's always a new dynamic.

"One of the amazing things about the job Roy [Williams] has done ... is how he has taken highly accomplished players and gotten them to accept roles to allow teams to be successful. That's one of his great strengths and a strength that will be put to the test this year."

Two years ago, Connecticut returned several potential draft picks and was favored to win the national title. Didn't happen. The Huskies were upset in the regionals by George Mason.

Last year, N.C. State saw four starters return, added ballyhooed freshman J.J. Hickson and was picked third in the ACC preseason. But the Pack struggled with roles and chemistry -- and wound up seeded No. 12 in the ACC Tournament.

Players who test the draft and get feedback from NBA scouts on what they need to work on, can impact the way they play on their college team.

Historically, that has not been an issue with UNC players, but Bonner recalled that it was once a problem on an LSU team after a star player returned from exploring his NBA chances. It prompted former LSU coach John Brady to say if he ever had another player put his name in the draft, he would encourage him to stay rather than return to school, Bonner said.

"The things the scouts told him to do was different than what [he needed to do] to make LSU better,'' Bonner said. "I think that's a real problem. But I'm not saying any guys at UNC suffer from that disease."

Williams said Monday he doesn't think that will be a concern.

"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," the coach said.

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