Posts tagged Danny Green at FanHouse

Two of the biggest reasons the North Carolina Tar Heels are favored to win the national championship are overall talent and depth. Roy Williams will have to tap into both when he starts the 2008-2009 season.

UNC will be without guard/forward Marcus Ginyard for at least eight weeks. Ginyard had surgery to place a screw in his left foot to correct a stress fracture.

"You hate this for Marcus because he has worked so hard to get ready for his senior season, but he decided it was better to have the surgery now and be ready sometime in December, than risk a more substantial injury that would knock him out of action later in the season," says head coach Roy Williams. "We will miss his play on both ends of the floor as well as his leadership with the young players. I am hopeful others will step forward to fill those roles. Marcus has been a joy to coach and I look forward to his return."

All around Tar Heel Nation, there are smiles. Ever since April, it has been rare to see such an occassion (with the obvious exception of Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough's decision to not go into the NBA Draft). There was the blowout to Kansas in the Final Four, Roy Williams wearing a KU sticker during the title game and the defection of four players from a team that would've been favored next season.

Today, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all decided to come back to North Carolina next season. While Ellington and Green aren't total surprises, there was a point that it felt both would actually leave. Lawson returning is a huge surprise since (a) he didn't seem like he really wanted to come back, (b) the arrest in Chapel Hill would mean consequences from Williams and (c) his stock actually seemed to rise into easy first round status.

This is a huge get for Williams and Tar Heel fans. The only two non-returning players (that mattered) from a 36-3 Final Four team are Quentin Thomas (graduation) and Alex Stepheson (transfer) -- both reserves.

The starting lineup will probably stay the exact same: Lawson, Ellington, Hansbrough, Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson. The bench will consist of Green (one of the best sixth men in the nation), Bobby Frasor (injured last year, a smart, steady player with a defensive presence), freshman Ed Davis (who will fill the defensive/rebounder role that Stepheson left), William Graves (long range shooter), freshman Tyler Zeller (a 7-foot guy who loves to run) and freshman Larry Drew (solid PG that won't be relied on too much).

"They are all going back to school," one source said. "None of them were 100 percent sure they would be taken in the first round."

It would seem as if the only drama going on at the NBA's pre-draft camp is the status of the three North Carolina Tar Heels that declared for the draft.

Heels fans have been vocal about wanting these guys back and how they aren't ready for The League. It seems that UNC guard Ty Lawson is kind of coming to this conclusion, as well:

North Carolina guard Ty Lawson said Wednesday if he's not confident he'll go 20th or better in the NBA draft, he'll pull out of the process and return to North Carolina for his junior season.

He said his challenge this week at the NBA pre-draft camp is convincing teams his left ankle is healed and showing he'll take -- and make -- jump shots when the opportunity is there.

This goes against Lawson's statement that he doesn't like the "test the waters" phrase since it implies that he's not seriously ready to go to the NBA. However, it is the first nugget of information that Carolina fans have been wanting to hear.

The other is this: guard Wayne Ellington really struggled in his first pre-draft game on Wednesday. He hit just one of his five shots from behind the arc (remember, the NBA arc) and committed six turnovers.

If you are a North Carolina fan, you are hoping that the three Heels who declared for the NBA Draft (Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green) all come back to school and create one of the most loaded college teams we've seen in a while.

The fact that they are "testing the waters" -- meaning they didn't hire an agent to preserve their college eligibility -- feeds into that hope.

However, don't tell that to those guys:

"But that's not the truth," he said Tuesday. "Everybody is in the draft to stay in the draft unless [they get hurt]. Comments like that are misleading to NBA teams, to say we're just testing the waters."

{ ... }

"Guys don't enter the draft unless they want to be in the draft," Ellington said. "I'm trying to raise my stock a bit and solidify a first-round position."

When UNC's Danny Green declared for the NBA Draft last month, the first question out of people's mouths was "what the heck is he thinking?"

Well, here is what he was thinking (hat tip: ACC Now):

" I mean, if I'm going to be projected to go in the second round, then it's probably going to be in my best interests to go back to school,'' Green told the website. "That's what Coach [Williams] is saying. Coach doesn't want me to go unless I'm guaranteed a contract.

"I mean, I called [Williams] and talked to him about it, but when it came down to it, it was the 'Big Three.' So they had their own meeting, and he thought I wasn't thinking about doing it. But I called him and told him about doing it, but he didn't think it was for my best interests... He gave me his advice, but I wanted to do it anyway. I wanted to see how good I could do. My family's not the richest in the world – not the poorest – but whatever I can do to help my family and whatever's best for my situation, I'm going to do. I thought it was best to try and see what I could do this year."

The North Carolina Tar Heels are having quite the off-season. Sure, Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough is coming back ... but no one knows what he's coming back too. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green have all declared for the NBA Draft (they all have the option of coming back to school by the June 16th deadline).

Now comes word that forward Alex Stepheson is leaving school and will transfer somewhere closer to home.

"My family is dealing with some health challenges at this time and as a result I have made the decision to transfer to be closer to home," Stepheson said in a statement released by the school.

"I am extremely, extremely disappointed but I feel so great about Alex that I understand his decision to transfer," UNC Roy Williams said in the release. "... He is a wonderful kid. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching him and know that he would have contributed so much more in the next two years. Nevertheless, I have tremendous respect for Alex and know that he will always be part of our Carolina Basketball family. I'll miss him, but he will always be important to me."

Home, for Stepheson, is the Los Angeles area. Stepheson was UNC's top reserve big man last season and brought much needed toughness on the floor. He turned into one of the team's premiere shotblockers and rebounders.

The fact that Stepheson is transferring is par for the course of UNC's elite 2006 recruiting class. Brandan Wright turned pro after his freshman season; Lawson and Ellington have declared for the draft; and now Stepheson is transferring. The only players left from that class are Deon Thompson and Will Graves.