Pro Basketball
Draft Loses Tar Heels, But Jayhawks Remain
Ty Lawson is one of three North Carolina Tar Heels who will be returning to campus rather than entering the NBA draft.
(By Gerry Broome -- Associated Press)
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The deadline for underclassmen without agents to withdraw from this year's NBA draft came and went last night, and the biggest winner turned out to be Coach Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Sophomore guard Ty Lawson, sophomore guard Wayne Ellington and junior forward Danny Green-- three players who could form the backbone of the country's best college basketball team next season -- withdrew their names from consideration for the June 26 draft and will return to campus.
Meantime, guard Mario Chalmers, the most outstanding player in the 2008 NCAA Final Four and a player who is expected to be a late first-round pick, decided to skip his senior season at Kansas and remain in the draft.
Chalmers, who worked out for the Wizards, will be joined in the draft by former Kansas teammates Brandon Rush, a guard who is projected to go somewhere in the first round, and forward Darrell Arthur, an athletic forward who is also projected as a possible lottery pick.
Other players who decided to return to school include Texas guard A.J. Abrams, Memphis forward Robert Dozier and Gonzaga guard Jeremy Pargo, who also worked out for the Wizards.
Talented prospects who chose to remain in the draft include Italian forward Danilo Gallinari, a possible lottery pick, center Marresse Speights (Florida), center DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M), forward J.J. Hickson (North Carolina State) and forward Richard Hendrix (Alabama).
The Wizards, who hold the 18th and 47th picks, also worked out Speights, Hendrix and guard Joe Alexander, who decided to remain in the draft. Alexander, a Linganore graduate, led West Virginia in scoring as a junior last season.
-- Ivan Carter
