Ty Lawson led all scorers with 25 points. Tyler Hansbrough had 17 and Danny Green and Wayne Ellington had 15 points each.

Green and Hansbrough did something that’s never been done in the Mike Krzyzewski era – they went four for four at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke was led by Kyle Singler‘s 22 points. Jon Scheyer added 20 and Gerald Henderson tossed in 17 for the Blue Devils.

Honestly, after the Blue Devils (20-4, 7-3) took a 52-44 lead at halftime, I thought the outcome just might be different this time around.

But as I was switching between the game and a good rerun of “Two and a Half Men,” (it was a really funny episode) North Carolina (22-2, 8-2) just took over this game and really put it out of reach with a 14-0 run midway in the second half.

Part two of North Carolina vs. Duke is at North Carolina, and it should be another good one. It’s on March 8 and is the last game of the regular season.

Post from: EveryJoe

Just Call Cameron Indoor Stadium “Danny and Tyler’s House”

Joseph Treutlein from draftexpress.com again categorizes how well certain guys are playing after the action on Thursday concluded.

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Some of the good

Malik Hairston Oregon

An injury to Tywon Lawson forced Hairston to play point guard, something he was clearly uncomfortable doing as evidenced by his four turnovers. The Detroit native did, however, make a number of heady cuts to the basket and knocked down a few jumpers, including a clutch shot late in the game to hold off the opposing team.

Teams will like Malik’s intangibles and versatility the most. His hoop’s IQ is very high and quite frankly I’m not sure if there’s a safer way to go in the 2nd round.

Wayne Ellington UNC

Wayne’s draft stock actually rose after Thursday’s action…

Ellington bounced back from an awful first day by moving off the ball beautifully and doing a great job knocking down shots from 17 to 20 feet by either spotting up, coming off a screen or pulling up off the dribble. Considering how one-dimensional he’s been at the camp, Ellington obviously needs to be stroking the ball well from outside if he is to make any type of impression. His defense, ball handling and finishing at the rim didn’t do him many favors.

Hopefully Wayne will heed the advice of the people that truly care about his future and return to school. Analysts are saying the same types of things about Wayne that I saw much of during the season. Again I’m not in Orlando watching these guys but what’s being said about Wayne seems right on.

Tywon Lawson UNC

After proving to be the top player in Orlando on Wednesday, Lawson suffered a minor injury and was kept out of action on Thursday. The sophomore playmaker is expected to return to action for Friday’s final day of camp.

Here’s DraftExpress President Jonathan Givony’s thoughts on Lawson as well,

Joining the injured list is Ty Lawson, fresh off a breakout performance last night—with a supposed “hip pointer.” Some NBA people we spoke with wondered whether hip pointer is actually code for “first round promise,” considering how well he played in the first day and how few point guards there are in this draft once you get past D.J. Augustin. Let’s see if he comes out and plays in the final day.

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Those first round promises can be misleading. But I believe Tywon is a first round talent, just not top 20 material. Orlando at #22 would be wise to take him, as well would San Antonio at #25.

Gary Forbes Massachusetts

Forbes had the camp’s most dominant performance so far, finishing with 30 points on only 16 shot attempts. He showed the full repertoire offensively, slashing to the rim, posting up smaller defenders and even hitting an NBA three-pointer. Even more impressive was his ability to get to the line 16 times within the flow of the offense. The UMass senior was easily the player of the day on Thursday and continued to make a case why he should be selected in the second round.

I’ve seen Forbes’s name in the 2nd round of a few mock drafts. After Friday concludes he will likely pop up in many more of them.

DeMarcus Nelson Duke

Played with his typical outstanding intensity on both ends of the court. He brought the ball up and even ran the point at times, initiating the offense but not doing much shot creating for teammates. Where Nelson really excelled was getting out in transition and slashing to the basket. He did a much better job finishing at the rim than he did Wednesday. Nelson’s defense wasn’t as good as it usually is in his matchup with the incredibly quick Mike Taylor, who gave him some problems on dribble drives. Nelson’s limitations with size and ball handling, along with his average athleticism, still make the NBA an uphill climb, but continuing to play with this kind of fire is definitely helping his cause.

Nelson, despite playing well, will not get drafted. Good college player will make a solid overseas player.

Mike Taylor Iowa State (played in the D-League last year)

D-League champion Mike Taylor put all of the professional experience he garnered this season to great use, looking more explosive than anyone else on the floor. He blew by defenders as if they weren’t there, shot the ball well from the perimeter and even showed some decent court vision in finding the open man in the half court. Taylor has been one of the camp’s most impressive players and has helped his NBA stock considerably. The Louis Williams clone will have a lot of buzz going into the final day.

When I saw Mike Taylor’s name on draftexpress.com a few days ago, I thought, who is this guy? Well the craze for Mr. Taylor has continued and I for one do not know what to make of it. He played one year at Iowa St. before getting booted from the team because of multiple arrests. But he had a great year in the D-League and has since then recieved tons of interest. He’ll likely get drafted in the early 2nd round.

Some of the bad

Davon Jefferson USC

Jefferson has yet to show the type of effort or fire you would expect to see from a player who is currently fighting for his professional future after having prematurely hired an agent despite an average freshman season at USC. His conditioning looks poor, he’s dribbling the ball excessively and he has yet to make use of the terrific athletic ability that made him a prospect in the first place.

D-League 2nd team wannabe.

Trent Plaisted BYU

Another underclassman who may have hastily decided to forfeit his college eligibility, Plaisted has struggled to make an impact consistently. He’s just floating up and down aimlessly at times and not using his athleticism to finish strong around the basket. You can’t ignore his physical tools, but at the same time, you’d like to see him make more use of them on the glass or defensively.

In the few times I’ve seen him play, he has always impressed me. I assure you he will not be a repeat of the last recently drafted BYU big man Rafael Araujo. Plaisted will get drafted, but will it be with the right team?

I also want to add a little bit about Kansas big men Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson. I’ve already mentioned that Sasha will get drafted, but didn’t really mention Darnell.

Here’s what Givony said about these two on Thursday

The Kansas duo Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun did a good job in the morning drills as well. Kaun with his feel for the game, agility and scrappiness around the basket, and Jackson with his improved mid-range jumper and the intensity he brings to the floor. It’s not hard to see why Kansas was so good this year with those two manning the post alongside Darrell Arthur. Jackson’s strong play definitely continued in the actual game, as he made some very quick and effective moves in the post, was constantly around the ball, knocked down his only shot and showed a lot of heart.

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I’m stiil saying that Kaun will get drafted but Darnell seems too mediocre and pedestrian to play at the NBA level. But I’m sure people said the same thing about Malik Rose too.

I will have more player reviews and reaction from Friday’s happenings soon.

Post from: EveryJoe

Day 3 in Orlando

Jonathan Givony, president of DraftExpress, characterized the first day as hectic and not a fair barometer of the talent at the camp.

It was hard to read too much into anything we saw in day one—players are being sent in and out of the game constantly, whistles are being blown in all directions, and turnovers, over-dribbling and bad shots abound. Isolated possessions gave you brief glimpses into some of the things these players can bring to the table, but for the most part today was about putting faces and names to the jersey numbers as your eyes constantly darted back and forth between the court and the roster list. Although we’ve seen all of these players on film repeatedly, and many of them in person during the regular season or in private workouts over the past few weeks, even we didn’t recognize everyone, largely due to the fact that many of the players here have lost significant amounts of weight since the season ended.

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Likewise, Day 1 was deemed as “disappointing” by draftexpress.com writer Joseph Treutlein. But he states Day 2 went much better and figured many of the first day nerves had subsided for most of the players.

Treutlein categorizes certain players whose stock he believes are rising, staying the same and dropping. Some players are on his list that I actually talked about in some earlier posts. Sleeper Seniors Should I stay or should I go?

Rising

Malik Hairston Oregon

While he didn’t have a noteworthy statistical game, Hairston has clearly benefited from getting in better shape. He showed improved elevation, quickness and explosiveness and looked like a new player. He had some nice dunks and was particularly impressive with his vision and unselfishness. His team has great chemistry and he’s a big reason for that.

This is definitely a huge plus for Malik. A couple more solid days of play and you can mark him down as a 2nd round pick.

Pat Calathes St. Joes

Played a very well-rounded game, scoring 10 points with five assists in just 15 minutes. He showed off ball-handling skills unique for a player of his size. There aren’t many 6-10 players who can do some of the things he did today. He was in rhythm almost immediately both times he was called off the bench, showing terrific creativity and feel for the game.

Looks like I’m two for two so far. Where do I sign up DraftExpress? Can I start immediately?

Dropping

Wayne Ellington UNC

Struggled mightily, hitting 3-of-10 from the field with six turnovers. Looked unimpressive athletically and with his ball-handling. Hasn’t been hitting his jump shot since he arrived.

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I’m telling you he’s got to come back for his junior year. Another couple of bad days and Wayne’s looking at shooting himself right out of the draft altogether.

Treutlein covered many more players than just these three. Some of them are

Patrick Ewing Jr. Georgetown

Ewing was on the “rising” list. As far as I’m concerned he can rise all he wants but there’s no way he gets drafted. Averaged 4.3 ppg in his four year career. Good luck.

Othello Hunter Ohio St.

Othello was on the “no movement” (staying the same) list. Saw this guy play a half a dozen times or so during his senior year. Athletic player but will have to settle for a playing career overseas.

George Hill IUPUI

George was also on the “no movement” list. I actually had the treat of seeing George Hill play in person once this past season. “Treat” might be overstating things a bit (a lot), but I came away sort of on the fence on whether or not the guy can even play in the D-League. He’s smooth, can handle the ball fairly well and has one of the best career field goal percentages I’ve ever seen for a guard, 53%. But not yet a NBA caliber point guard in the least bit. And at 6’2, a point guard is all he’ll ever be. Basically I’m saying George needs to return for his senior year and watch Steve Nash tapes or something.

Surprisingly Kyle Weaver (Washington St.) and Jamont Gordon (Miss. St.) passed up their camp invitations and are not participating. Both of their draft stocks are probably plummeting and are under the “dropping” category as of now. Does Weaver, a senior, know that he’s exhausted all of his college eligibility? At least Gordon can decide to pull out on June 16th and go back to school.

Hopefully I’ll have news from Day 3 of the Pre-Draft camp shortly.

Post from: EveryJoe

Orlando’s winners and losers so far

Some players should bolt while their draft status is still Corey Brewer kinda high, and others should step back and realize it would be a benefit to get one more year of coaching and practice under their belt.

There are some locks for both spots, especially for the players who should think twice about entering the draft. However many players perform well at the pre-draft camp ( May 27- June 3rd), thus raising their draft stock considerably. But remember, there’s only 30 first round picks, meaning only 30 players are guaranteed contracts. Again, signing an agent and forgoing further college eligibility is a huge decision many players will make, and unfortunately a good portion will be either 2nd round picks or will go undrafted. Be careful of who you listen to…

SG Wayne Ellington UNC (So)- Smooth shooter from long range, but not in any way a sure bet for the 1st round. Wayne did not have the greatest of NCAA tourney performances, only hitting 17 of 48 field goals during the last 3 rounds and only 3 of 17 three pointers as well. His counterpart Danny Green should also consider coming back to UNC. The Tar Heels would again have a very good oppurtunity to win the title.

SG/SF Jamont Gordon Mississippi State (Jr)- Currently not in the discussion for the 1st round. But strong performances in the pre-draft workouts could jump him up some, maybe even into the 1st round. He needs to work on his outside shot, as he only hit 31% of his three pointers last season. But Jamont has an NBA body and a NBA future, but would be wise to go back and assure himself 1st round status for next year. But maybe his senior year is barred by injuries or bad play? That’s a chance he will have to take.

SF Ryan Anderson California (So)- This guy is an intriguing player because you just don’t know if he’ll improve that much in his Junior year to improve his stock. He’s not athletic and probably will never improve in that area much. So it makes more sense for Ryan to bolt now, considering he just came off a season where he averaged 20 + ppg in a very good conference. He’s also caught in between positions a bit, or so the experts say. I wouldn’t worry too much about him being a tweener because at the end of the day this is basketball, not a puzzle. David West can attest to this.

David West knows what it feels like to be called a tweener.

SG Russell Westbrook UCLA (So)- Russell will not have a better chance to crack the top 15 than he will this year. He’s another candidate for the tweener label. The great upside to Russell is his tenacity and athleticism. He can guard 1’s and 2’s as well as grab rebounds over many taller players. But shooting and ball handling are aspects he will have to improve upon to really draw attention to himself come May 27th. I would compare this guy to a more defensive minded Leandro Barbosa, or maybe even a shorter version of Desmond Mason. The sky is the limit for Russell. UCLA will sorely miss him.

SG /SF Bill Walker Kansas St. (Fr) Bill played very well in both of K State’s tourney games. My reasoning on why he should go pro is simple. After all of the coverage and press Michael Beasley got, Bill is still very much in the minds of the powers that be in the NBA. Also, K State doesn’t have the greatest group of guards, so there’s nobody who’s going to substantially make Bill better. He can already drive to the basket aggressively and has a shooting touch that comes and goes, but is mainly pretty reliable. He may be a little wild and arrogant at times, but it’s not anything worth fretting over. While a lot of folks are saying he should stay, I think he should enter and take his chances. After all, we all know he’s going to get drafted and end up being a solid pro, so why delay the dream just for one more year of college and a sure contract come 09?

My guess will be that Walker, Ellington and Gordon stay, while the other two enter the draft. We will see soon enough.

Photo credit Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Should I stay or should I go?

- BYU guard Lee Cummard
- BYU center Trent Plaisted
- Texas A&M guard/forward Josh Carter
- UCLA guard/forward Josh Shipp
- North Carolina guard Ty Lawson
- North Carolina forward Wayne Ellington
- Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll
- Missouri forward Leo Lyons

Since underclassmen can declare for the draft without hiring an agent, it really muddles up the draft picture. Many of these kids are simply testing the waters to see where they would potentially fall in the draft, but have no intentions of remaining in the draft.

With no penalty for dropping out of the draft, why not declare? I have to laugh every time I see a player that averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game declare for the draft. Yeah, like teams are going to waste a draft pick on him.

Post from: EveryJoe

Let the underclassmen exodus to the NBA begin, Part whatever…

Given all of the recent early entries into the draft, this is BIG news.

It is bigger news because the player returning for his senior season is the National Player of the Year – Tyler Hansbrough.

Hansbrough averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds for North Carolina, and he will return to Chapel Hill for his senior season in an effort to win the national championship.

I personally felt this was the Tar Heels year to win the tournament, but they flamed out against Kansas in the national semi-finals.

Hansbrough and the Tar Heels may have a tougher time next season as juniors Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson declared for the draft and may not be back.

Post from: EveryJoe

POY Hansbrough going back for senior year

Will the lack of depth hurt UNC?

The announcing crew is  Mike Patrick and Len Elmore. Let’s get to the opening tip…

• Kent State comes out in an extremely aggressive man-to-man defense – lots of pressure up top on the guards, overplaying the passing lanes – and it results in an early backdoor dunk by Tyler Hansbrough.
• Another easy dunk by Hansbrough – the Golden Flashes are trying to single team Hansbrough, and it isn’t working – UNC up 8 to 4 early on.
• Note to Kent State head coach Jim Christian – Hansbrough is a Player of the Year candidate for a reason – he can finish around the basket. You might try a few double teams here and there. Just a thought.
• The Golden Flashes, who only average 11 turnovers a game, already have 3 – and we’re only 5 minutes into the game.
• Pretty top-of-the-key jumper off a curl by UNC’s Wayne Ellington – very pretty stroke. UNC up 10 to 4 at the first T.V. timeout.
• Kent State is very deliberate on offense – lots of movement, off-the-ball screens, backdoor cuts and slashes to the basket. They are 10-2 for a reason. Very sound fundamentally.
• Kent State decides to triple team Hansbrough on the low post, who proceeds to kick the ball out to Danny Green who nails a deep three. You need to double team Hansbrough and make the Tar Heel outside shooters beat you.
• Hansbrough puts up an ugly shot out of the double team – very poor decision. If Kent State can rattle Hansbrough enough, this game might be interesting.
• Long range three by Mike Scott brings the Flashes to within 4.
• UNC up 19-13 with 11:21 to go in the half.  Kent State cannot afford to get into a track meet with the Tar Heels, and they are doing a good job at slowing the game down.
• Lawson comes back into the game after a long breather – not having Frasor around definitely hurts the Tar Heels point guard play.
• UNC is now up 24-13 – the Heels are coming up with every loose ball.
• Hansbrough is absolutely mugged on a breakaway dunk attempt by Al Fisher, who is called for the flagrant foul. Fisher is 6′1″… Hansbrough is 6′11″. You’ve got to give Fisher credit for not being afraid of the big man. Hansbrough hits the two foul shots to push the lead to 26-13.
• Lawson hits another three after a nice kick-out pass from Green. Hansbrough forces a traveling call on Haminn Quaintance – #8 for the Flashes – and the game is starting to slip away from Kent State. UNC up 29-13. Somewhere in Florida, Dick Vitale is whispering (no yelling yet Dick) “Take a T.O. baby!!!!!” Christian somehow hears Vitale and calls timeout.
• UNC is shooting 52% from the field so far, Kent State is shooting 42%.
• Ellington swoops in from the right side for an easy layup – UNC up 37-19 at the 3:42 mark.
• Kent States is running some good sets, but they are missing some easy shots.
• Fisher hits a trey off a Quaintance screen to bring the Flashes within 13 with under a minute to go.
• Williams calls a timeout with 35.5 seconds left after Quaintance hits an easy lay-up – UNC up 41-30.
• Ellington hits a three from downtown Charlotte to push lead to 44-32. UNC had allowed an easy alley-oop dunk before Ellington’s long range bomb. Williams cannot be happy with their letdown on the defensive end of the floor. Once you have an opponent down, you need to go for the jugular, and UNC took their foot off the pedal.

2nd half

• UNC comes out with two quick turnovers. You can actually see Roy Williams’ hair turning more gray with each turnover.
• Quaintance with a nifty block on Lawson’s dunk attempt leads to an easy layup for the Flashes. UNC up 53-38 with 15:56 to go.
• Deon Thompson with a nice turnaround J from the low left block – Thompson has been very quiet this game, and with his size and athleticism, UNC needs to feed him the ball more.
• Kent State with another extra pass to free up Fisher for the backdoor layup. Kent State hanging around at 57-42.
• UNC forces a turnover off their midcourt trap that leads to a Hanbrough flush – Carolina now up 19.
• With Quaintance on the bench, UNC is looking to Hansbrough more, and he’s coming through with some good shots. Carolina up 63-42 with 11 minutes left.
• Ellington with yet another bucket from the elbow off a screen – he is an absolute pure shooter.
• Lawson penetrates and hits the up-and-under layup to push the lead to 23. Both teams are getting a little sloppy on both ends of the floor, and UNC is getting the better of it.
• Hansbrough bullies his way through two Kent State defenders for the basket and foul.  UNC up comfortably 72-48 with 7:47 left.
• UNC is shooting 71% in the 2nd half, but they are still allowing some defensive lapses that need to be corrected.
• Give Kent State credit – even though they are down big, they are staying within their offense and are not forcing shots. They are getting some good looks, but can’t seem to find the bottom of the net.
• Mike Scott just came flying through the lane, grabbed a rebound with his right hand and sent it home with authority. “That was awesome, baby!!! Scott is a high-flyer!!!”. Unfortunately, it was only worth two points.
• Hansbrough leaves the game at the 5:00 minute mark with 25 points. Ellington follows him to the sidelines with 17 points. Looks like its garbage time.
• Final score: UNC 90-61.

Kent State showed everybody the blueprint for beating UNC – take away the Tar Heels transition game and force them to run their half court sets. Carolina was much less effective in the half court game and showed some vulnerabilities.

Unfortunately for the Golden Flashes, they didn’t have the depth to hang with Carolina for the full 40 minutes.

With athletes like Lawson, Green and Thompson, UNC is deadly when they push the tempo. And if you choose to single team Hansbrough, you might as well not even show up.

Post from: EveryJoe

1/2 – Kent State versus North Carolina – as it happens

1st half

• Bobby Frasor has replaced Lawson in the starting lineup for UNC.
• UNC is coming out in an extremely aggressive man-to-man defense – they are right up in the face of every Buckeye player.
• 3 quick Tar Heel fouls in the first minute of the game. They will need to ease up a bit on defense if they want to stay out of foul trouble.
• OSU is triple teaming Tyler Hansbrough every time he touches the ball, and he’s not looking to pass out of the pressure.
• OSU’s matchup 1-2-2 zone is giving Carolina fits early on.
• UNC up 4-3 at the 15:59 mark.
• Carolina is getting some really good looks at the basket, but nothing is dropping.
• OSU up 9-8 at the 12:25 mark. Hansbrough just hit a nice foul-line jumper to beat the zone.
• UNC on a 7-0 run to go up 13-9. OSU is shooting the ball and all 5 guys are retreating to the defensive end – they have no pressure on the offensive boards.
• UNC up 18-13 at the 8:16 mark. Frasor is missing some open looks on the offensive end and is consistently being beaten off the dribble by OSU point guard David Lighty.
• OSU shooting guard Jon Diebler just hit a shot from downtown Akron to put OSU up by 2, 23-21. Diebler is the all-time leading scorer in the state of Ohio, and if he gets hot, look out. The kid has no conscience when shooting the ball.
• OSU up 32-29 at the half. UNC is settling for too many jump-shots against the Buckeye zone defense.

2nd half

• UNC is trying to be patient with the OSU zone defense, but they are still taking really quick shots.
• Hansbrough with a nifty move inside to score the bucket and draw the foul. Hansbrough makes the foul shot to pull the Heels even at 35.
• Carolina is trying to find the gap in the center of the OSU zone and exploit it. The mid-range jumper is there for the taking if UNC wants it.
• OSU’s Jamar Butler just missed a layup after blowing by the UNC backcourt. OSU has no problem beating the Tar Heel guards off the dribble, but are having a hard time finishing the play.
• Another OSU turnover leads to a Tar Heel fast break and three-point play by Marcus Ginyard. UNC up 42-39 at the 15:12 mark.
• UNC’s Wayne Ellington hurt his lower back after taking a nasty spill in the lane. He had been the Heel’s best perimeter shooter so far, and Carolina’s offense is missing his outside shot.
• UNC just got a gift as two Buckeyes fought over a rebound and it fell to UNC’s Deon Thompson for the easy flush.
• Ellington back into the game for Carolina and he immediately hits a 3-pointer off glass to put UNC up 47-40 at the 12:19 mark.
• A huge offensive rebound and putback by Thompson has UNC up by 9. UNC is really stepping up the man-to-man defensive pressure again, and it is starting to pay some dividends.
• Thompson with a jump hook from the right side – he is on fire right now. Carolina is finally figuring out how to find the hole in the Buckeye zone defense and has pushed the lead to 11 with 8:03 left in the game.
• Hansbrough with another bucket inside – he has 13 points and 10 boards. UNC up 57-43 with 5:43 left.
• Diebler with his 5th trey of the game – it was the Buckeyes first field goal in the last 10 minutes.
• Diebler with a fast break dunk to pull OSU within 6 at 57-51. UNC takes a quick timeout to try and stop the momentum.
• UNC’s Danny Green with a great drive and dump down to Thompson for an easy dunk to put UNC back up by 8.
• Carolina is trying to eat a little time off the clock and the OSU guards are applying more pressure on the ball, as well as trying to trap the ball near the sideline. If UNC becomes too passive, it could come back to bite them.
• Ellington with a huge three as the shot clock was winding down to put UNC up 9.
• Lighty made a great drive to the bucket but took off too far underneath and was stuffed by the backboard. That’s never good…especially when you’re down by 9.
• Hansbrough has missed 3 straight free throws to keep OSU’s hopes alive.
• UNC up 64-55 with 1:19 to go. It is time for UNC to make their free throws and time for Ohio State to knock down some 3s.
• UNC goes into their Dean Smith speciality – the 4 corners stall.
• Diebler with another missed trey, and OSU is forced to foul. Given the way UNC has shot free throws tonight, that’s not a bad thing.
• Elllington sinks two free throws to push UNC’s lead to 11.

UNC wins a tight game 66-55. More importantly for UNC, they won the game without their spark plug Ty Lawson. That bodes very well for Carolina.

Next up for UNC is Kentucky on Saturday.

Post from: EveryJoe

North Carolina vs. Ohio State – as it happens