RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina underclassmen Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green will withdraw their names from the NBA draft and return to Chapel Hill next season.
The school's announcement Monday came less than an hour before the deadline for underclassmen who had not hired agents to withdraw from the draft.
And it means the Tar Heels figure to enter next year as prohibitive favorites to reach the Final Four. North Carolina will return its top six players while also adding one of the nation's top recruiting classes.
All three players had participated in the predraft camp in Orlando before working out for individual teams in recent weeks. Coach Roy Williams said the three gained ``valuable information,'' but said the timing for a leap to the NBA ``was just not exactly right at this point.''