UNC 3 Stay; Hickson Goes

All three of North Carolina's potential early NBA departures have decided to return to school.

Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green will all be back in Carolina blue next year, after "testing the waters" and deciding that they would be taken too deep in the draft. Armed with the information they obtained during the process, each player should make great strides over the summer as they work on their games.

It's no longer just the fans saying the Ellington should improve his defense. Or that Green should protect the ball better. Or that Lawson should have a more consistent jumper. Now, the players have gotten those same critiques from their prospective employers.

With the announcement of the players' return, UNC automatically becomes the (probably unanimous) pick to be #1 in the preseason polls. The Heels only lost Quentin Thomas and Alex Stepheson, while adding one the top-ranked recruiting classes in the country. Also, Bobby Frasor should be returning from his knee injury (as long as he stops jumping off of balconies).

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Raleigh, JJ Hickson issued a statement announcing that he had signed with an agent, ending his college career. If anyone was surprised by this announcement, I would be shocked. He was always going to be a one-and-done guy, so I really believe his "testing the waters" announcement was mostly insurance against injury.

As a State fan, I wish he would have stayed another year, but I can't blame him for going. I don't know much about his family situation, but he is in a position right now to impact the lives of those around him, and he is taking advantage of it. Hopefully, he gets drafted in the top 20, even though most projections I've seen have him in the mid- to late twenties.

It's disappointing to see such a talented player leave so quickly, but encouraging that Coach Lowe was able to get him to come to Raleigh in the first place. Hopefully, JJ's entry into the draft will enable Coach Lowe to recruit more players of his skill level in the future. Most of today's top high school players want to know that their college coach can get them into the NBA, so JJ's success would give Coach Lowe another thing to sell to recruits.