The big press conference in Chapel Hill is expected to take place Friday with
Raymond
Felton, Marvin Williams, and Sean May all expected to announce they're entering
the draft.
Of course, the flipside is that that opens up playing time, and as both Shane
Battier and Antawn Jamison proved, sometimes the guy who is not supposed to be
ready is ready. A beneficiary this time could be Uche
Ekefu, if he decides to go there.
But that's after tomorrow.
Don't get us wrong, we'll enjoy watching UNC suffer through this, if it
actually does happen. We still haven't forgotten 1995 and how thoughtful many
local UNC fans were. If it comes to pass, we'll remember that.
But it's not like we're writing them off, either. It's a proud program
with lots of tradition, and they'll want to show they're still a factor. And
with a good - and possibly improving - class coming in, you can't dismis them.
And of course the coaching is more stable than it apparently was under Mad
Matt.Doherty.
Danny
Green, for one, is sure they're all gone, and we haven't seen anyone who
would bet otherwise. Still, it's best to wait and see.
On a slightly different note, we can't blame anyone for getting wealthy so
quickly. But in American culture, wealth often is seen as validation of
nearly anything. We don't know any of them, of course, but we do know you
learn things as a young man in college that you can't learn anywhere else.
A while back, Julius Erving told a great story about meeting Bill Russell
when the doctor was still at UMass. "What's the most important
building on campus?" Russell asked. They gym? guessed Erving.
"No, the library. You remember that."
Russell himself told a story of being in class at USF and saying something
outloud like "Wow!" The brother leading the class said,
"congratulations, Mr. Russell, you've just had your first thought." It was an exaggeration, of course, but Russell was overwhelmed by the intellectual experience.
He also spoke of a woman who taught him to love books, and how he was
constantly leaving her place with tons of things to read.
Basketball is a magnificent game - the best game, if you ask us. But as
great as it is, as lucrative as it has become, none of it can buy what you feel
when you learn. Here's hoping they maintain one of UNC's finer traditions
and return to finish their degrees shortly.
And take some Dostoyevsky on the road!
For those people outside the area, you may keep up to date on the press conference here.