While Ty Lawson was undoubtedly the best point guard in college basketball last season, NBA scouts give his NBA potential mixed reviews. Apparently, even leading North Carolina to a championship last year didn’t prove to scouts that he’s fully capable of being a pro.

Last season, Lawson averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. He shot 53.2% from the field, 47.2% from three-point range and turned the ball over just 1.9 times per contest.

Lawson’s biggest asset is his quickness. From end to end, he’s lightning. He’s also an underrated athlete and is able to get to the rim and finish in a heart beat. As his numbers indicate, he’s also a good passer and knows how to take car of the ball. His 2.1 steals per game show he’s active on the defensive end.

What are the knocks against Lawson? First of all, he’s only about 6-feet tall and his arms are average length. With that size, he could find it difficult to score against bigger and more athletic players. Scoring-wise, he doesn’t have much versatility and there’s some question if he can knock down the NBA three-pointer with any consistency.

Additionally, there have been a couple red flags about his character over the last 18 months — although most scouts agree that he’s a good kid.

According to most draft experts, Lawson could go as high as number 8 to the New York Knicks but will more likely be selected between 10 and 15.

Ty Lawson - NBA Scouting Report (Image: Zuma Press)

Out of anyone in the 2009 NBA Draft, Tyler Hansbrough had the best college career — by far. He became arguably the best player in North Carolina history and topped it off with a championship. In all four years at North Carolina, he averaged at least 18.4 points and at least 7.8 rebounds.

Tyler Hansbrough NBA Scouting Report (Image: Zuma Press)

Despite his college success, Hansbrough won’t be a top pick in the draft. Most scouting experts believe he won’t crack the top ten.

The biggest knock against him is his athleticism. He’s just not a player who will be able to easily convert attempts near the rim. Defensively, he’s going to have to work on his fundamentals if he’s going to thrive in the NBA.

While Hansbrough isn’t going to be a star in the NBA, he could be a Luis Scola type player. Hansbrough has a good basketball IQ, a strong will to win and tons of experience at a high level. A team is going to role the dice on him from the 10 to 15 range and hope that his intangibles overcome his physical limitations.

North Carolina made their fifth college basketball national championship look easy. Up by 21 at the half, North Carolina cruised in the second half to win by a final score of 89-72. Michigan State, although undoubtedly a tough team, simply couldn’t match the talent that the Tar Heels put on the court.

North Carolina 2009 Champions (Image: Newscom)

Tyler Hansbrough put an exclamation point on his legendary college career by scoring 18 points and pulling down seven boards. However, the best player on the court had to be Ty Lawson, the speedy point guard for the Tar Heels. Lawson finished the game with 21 points, eight steals, six assists and four rebounds. Wayne Ellington, yet another North Carolina player who will one day play in the NBA, chipped in 19 points.

For Michigan State, bigman Goran Suton had 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Coming into March Madness, Suton wasn’t a widely known player. But after a number of memorable performances, he’s now known around the country. Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers scored 14 and 13 points for the Spartans, respectively.

The game quickly got out of hand when North Carolina jumped out to a 34-11 lead. Their 21-point halftime lead was the largest in the history of the championship games.

“When you play North Carolina,” said Tom Izzo, the coach of the Spartans, “there’s nothing you can do.”

Nothing other than hand over a fifth national championship.

On Friday, Plaxico Burress was released by the New York Giants. On Saturday, Burress was in Detroit as he cheered on Michigan State in the Final Four. With Burress leading the cheers, Michigan State won and is heading to the title game.

Burress wasn’t in a talkative mood at the 2009 Final Four contest. The only question he answered was when he said he felt great following his release from the Giants.

Born in Virginia, Burress attended Michigan State before being selected in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 6-foot-5 Burress established himself as a wide receiver who was both big and talented in his days with the Spartans. The apex of Burress’ football career came when he caught the winning touchdown in the 2007 Super Bowl as the Giants upset the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.

On Monday, Michigan State will face North Carolina for the 2009 college basketball championship. There’s no confirmation yet that Burress will attend the championship game. Either way, Burress will be in a court in June when he faces gun charges in New York.

Plaxico Burress - From Basketball Court to Court of Law (Image: Newscom)

The 2009 college basketball national championship will be decided on Monday when Michigan State takes on North Carolina. The game, which will take place in Detroit, will be a rematch of a contest in December that had North Carolina beat up on Michigan State by a final score of 98-63.

North Carolina faces Michigan State for the title (Image: Newscom)

On Saturday, the North Carolina Tar Heels advanced by beating the Villanova Wildcats in the 2009 Final Four 83-69. Point guard Ty Lawson led the way with 22 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Wayne Ellington chipped in 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.

On the other side of the bracket, the Michigan State Spartans upset the Connecticut Huskies by a final score of 82-73. Kalin Lucas led the way for Michigan State with 21 points and five assists. Raymar Morgan added 18 points, nine rebounds and five steals for the Spartans.

Michigan State won NCAA tournament championships in 1979 and 2000, while North Carolina has been national champions in 1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005.