Hansbrough stays; guards may go

Tar Heels fans get good news as national player of the year and ACC MVP Tyler Hansbrough returns, but Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson could leave for NBA

Consensus national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough is returning to North Carolina for his senior season in hopes of winning a national championship.

The question is: Will he have the pieces around him to do it?

While UNC announced Friday that the power forward is staying in school, two other key members of this year's Final Four run -- point guard Ty Lawson and shooting guard Wayne Ellington -- will enter their names into the NBA Draft but not hire an agent. That leaves them both open to the possibility of a return next season, but it puts the team's title prospects somewhat in limbo.

"Any time you have 22 points and 10 rebounds and a guy that gets to the free-throw line 10 times a game, they've definitely got a chance to get back to the Final Four,'' ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. "But if all three of them return, UNC has a great chance."

Hansbrough, who was also named the ACC's MVP and the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA East Regional, needs only 123 points to become UNC's all-time leading scorer and 602 points to set the ACC scoring record.

He has often said his biggest collegiate goal was to lead the Tar Heels to the national title; they lost to Kansas in the national semifinals earlier this month.

"I love playing at North Carolina and still have big dreams to realize here, including graduating,'' Hansbrough said in a prepared statement. "Of course I look forward to playing in the NBA some day but not next year."

Ellington and Lawson, meanwhile, are the first players under coach Roy Williams to "test the NBA waters." If they refrain from hiring agents and continue to attend class, they will have until 5 p.m. June 16 to pull out. The draft will be held 10 days later.

With the depth of this year's draft -- more than three dozen other underclassmen have also declared -- the sophomores are not currently projected as lottery (top 14) picks and may even risk falling to the second round, where contracts are not guaranteed.

But a new NBA rule makes it more financially feasible for underclassmen to be further evaluated by NBA teams. In the past, players who declared for the draft but wanted to retain the option of going back to school had to pay for their own airfare and hotel rooms for individual NBA workouts.

That has changed. According to a March educational document from the NCAA:

"You may try out with an NBA team during the academic year if you are enrolled full-time as long as you do not miss class. You may receive actual and necessary expenses from the NBA team in conjunction with one 48-hour tryout per team. The 48-hour tryout period begins when you arrive at the tryout location."

If the tryout lasts more than 48 hours, the player must pay the additional expenses, except in the case of the NBA predraft camp.

Amy Herman, UNC's director of compliance, said that she would keep in close contact with the basketball coaches and players to make sure they keep receipts and other documentation in case something came up. She also asked coaches to share with the players an NCAA memorandum that spells out the rules of submitting your name for the draft without hiring an agent.

The three players were not available for comment, but Ellington and Lawson said in a prepared statement that they planned to stay in good academic standing and were studying for final exams next week.

"I'm not dying to leave here, but playing in the NBA is another dream I have,'' Ellington said.

Williams also said in the statement that he supports the decisions by each of the three players and will continue to help Ellington and Lawson through the predraft process.