NBA could beckon for Tar Heels stars

Posted 8:05PM on Monday 11th April 2005 ( 20 years ago )

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina easily could be the favorite to win the national championship again. Then again, the Tar Heels might not even be picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference. Such is the predicament facing coach Roy Williams, who has one of the top recruiting classes in the country coming to Chapel Hill next season. For now, that's all he knows for sure. Williams anticipates guard Rashad McCants will skip his senior year to enter the NBA draft, although no announcement has been made. Fellow juniors Sean May and Raymond Felton have the same decision to make as does talented freshman Marvin Williams after leading North Carolina to its first NCAA title since 1993. ``Winning a championship is great, but everybody wants to know if a guy can play or not,'' said Ryan Blake, the NBA's assistant scouting director. ``You can look at poise and the way guys step up, but those are just other avenues for somebody to be evaluated.'' May is adamant he's coming back despite a marvelous individual run through the tournament. In those six consecutive victories, he averaged 22.3 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 67 percent. Twice he made all but one of his shots from the field, including a 10-for-11 performance against Illinois in the final. He finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds in that game, giving him 15 double-doubles in the last 20 games. At the title celebration, fans chanted for ``one more year.'' May told them to save their breath because he planned to stay. ``To be honest, his stock will probably never be higher than it is right now,'' said Chris Monter, who publishes an NBA draft newsletter five times a year and also edits a Web site devoted to college basketball. ``He had a great tournament, he has good, soft hands, and he really knows low-post positioning.'' Marvin Williams never started in his first year with the Tar Heels, but he was the first one off the bench to give them a dominating rotation of inside players. He scored about 11 points a game, and he had the go-ahead tip in the championship game. At this point, he might decide to follow Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to the national title as a freshman before turning pro. ``I think Marvin is a very well-known player, even though he wasn't a starter. That one year really helped him,'' Monter said. Williams, May and the rest of the team certainly benefited from Felton's presence at point guard. As the only member of the team to average more than 30 minutes of playing time, he was indispensable. In fact, when Felton was suspended for the season opener against Santa Clara for playing in an unsanctioned summer league game, the Tar Heels lost badly. His quickness and court vision helped them lead Division I with 88 points a game. He also changed the form of his jumper to become a true perimeter threat. Felton made only 34 percent of his 3-pointers during his first two seasons, but improved to 44 percent as a junior. ``This could be a pretty deep draft at point guard, particularly if all the point guards from the ACC come out,'' Monter said. ``He certainly would be one of the first ones taken.'' According to Monter, if all the North Carolina underclassmen enter the draft, McCants would be the last one selected. He sacrificed his scoring for most of the season to become a better all-around player, and he still finished second on the team with an average of 16 points. McCants met with Roy Williams in January, when they decided he most likely would head to the NBA. The coach plans to meet with the others soon. ``Marvin, I've heard him say that he'd really love to stay, but he and I are going to sit down and talk,'' Williams said last week in St. Louis. ``Sean has said publicly he is coming back, but we'll sit down and talk there as well.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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