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Hansbrough's tough choice
Submitted by SHNS on Thu, 04/10/2008 - 14:03.
Shortly after North Carolina's 84-66 loss to Kansas in the Final four last Saturday, Tar Heels forward Tyler Hansbrough reiterated that "it's every college basketball player's dream to win a national championship."
But will following that dream be enough to make him and teammates Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson return to Chapel Hill for another season?
All three said they would meet with coach Roy Williams and talk to their families before making any final decision. Williams consults with at least 10 NBA teams per season to gather information for his players. The deadline for declaring is April 27, and Williams said it might be several weeks before anything is announced.
The team's end-of-season awards ceremony, where some players have disclosed their decisions in the past, is scheduled for next Thursday.
Losing any of the trio would hurt the Tar Heels, but the biggest impact will be made by Hansbrough, who led his team in scoring and rebounding, who swept the national player of the year awards and who already is eligible to have his jersey retired at UNC.
Here's how his decision breaks down:
REASONS TO STAY
-- 123 AND 602: Number of points Hansbrough needs to set career scoring records for UNC and the ACC, respectively. Phil Ford leads UNC with 2,290; Duke's J.J. Redick holds the league mark at 2,769 points.
-- Elusive title: Hansbrough led UNC one step closer this season -- to the Final Four. But he has yet to reach his ultimate goal.
-- Enjoying school: Although he is finished with Swahili classes, he still genuinely likes the college experience. And staying another season would allow him to play alongside good friend Bobby Frasor, who was sidelined with a knee injury this season.
-- No sense of urgency: His dad is an orthopedic surgeon, so the family doesn't need his NBA paycheck.
REASONS TO GO
-- $933,500: Guaranteed first-year rookie salary for the 24th pick (where he is currently projected by nbadraftexpress.com) in the June draft. The top pick will make $4.019 million; the 30th will take home $797,600.
-- Proving them wrong: Some critics say he isn't athletic enough to be a star in the NBA. The sooner he gets there, the sooner he'll have the chance to make his detractors eat crow. And his NBA stock likely won't get much higher ... or lower.
-- Fearing overexposure: He started feeling some of the backlash that goes with being the NCAA's top player when a few members of the national media complained that Hansbrough was "overexposed." That sort of criticism is likely to increase.
-- Injury risk: Yes, he has a multi-million dollar insurance policy with the NCAA, but that only pays out if he suffers a career-ending injury. And as hard as he plays, opponents will continue to play him more physically.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Hansbrough should stay
Hansbrough should stay another year because he has the second chance to take the Tar Heels to the NCAA Final four. He is the most dominant player in College. He could make his mark if he stays one more year.i do not think it would be a wise choise to leave college because he can be the best college player there ever was.He could be one of the greats at UNC like Vince Carter,Michael Jordan and Rasheed Wallace.
i dont think either
i dont think either hansbrough nor lawson and ellington should leave because none of them are mentally ready for the pro level. the game against kansas should show them there not mentally or physically ready for the pro level yet. they need to stay just one more year and get just a little more experience with the recruits there getting next year there be a better quality team and with the combination of new talent and the expereince if they stay, there is noway they can lose next year
tyler should stay
tyler should stay his last year granted he is beyond good to go to the NBA(what i think)well not everyone thinks that so many ppl doubt him why not stay another get even better and prove them all wrong! he even said its everyones dream to win a national championship why doesnt he stay and make that dream happen!ty should stay too they need his speed waynes gotta stay he is a key player for the heels!
tyler should stay
tyler should stay his last year granted he is beyond good to go to the NBA(what i think)well not everyone thinks that so many ppl doubt him why not stay another get even better and prove them all wrong! he even said its everyones dream to win a national championship why doesnt he stay and make that dream happen!ty should stay too they need his speed waynes gotta stay he is a key player for the heels!
hansbrough...better stay
tyler hansbrough is the best player @ UNC...in the ACC...in all of NCAA division 1...not to mention he might possibly be the best college basketball player of all time. :) i'm sure if he did go to the NBA he would perform well regardless to what critics may say. but i believe hansbrough should say for his senior year & finally win that championship that hes always dreamed of!! GO TAR HEELS!
Tyler Should Leave
Tyler's a great player. He should play for the lakers or something. He's done a lot; he's losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to play in NC--that sucks as a business decision. People don't earn that kind of money in their entire lifetime. He could make it one year. GO TYLER GO!
Tyler should stay at UNC
Undoubtedly Tyler would succeed in the NBA, no matter what critics may say. He loves the game, is very talented and driven, and is committed to doing what needs to be done to excel. Tyler has made it clear that winning a national championship is a dream/goal of his...if he left, there would always be that "what if" in the back of his mind-no matter how much $$$ he is earning. One more year would also let him become more physically and mentally prepared for the stresses of the NBA.
Lawson Ellington
Hansbrough will stay because he wants the title . Lawson or Ellington is not even good enough yet and would get drafted late second round. Ellington is way too inconsistent with his shot and lawson lost a lot of experience due to an ankle injury..WHY is everyone talking about this. They are not even first round picks? They are not going anywhere..trust me@@~~~~!!
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