Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, in recent years UNC players who decide not to leave for the NBA typically announce their decision at their banquet. No announcements Thursday night, which will lead to more speculation about the futures of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington.
Hansbrough and Lawson are generally considered to be first-round picks, with some caveats. Hansbrough's ability to compete against top-flight talent has been questioned, although most people figure he'll have a long career. And Lawson's prospects took a bit of a hit after he missed a big chunk of the season and then more or less disappeared in the Kansas game.
And Ellington isn't widely thought to be a first-round pick and most NBA types would like to see him with more point guard skills since he is 6-3.
One note from the banquet: when they showed highlights from the Kansas game, Mike Copeland turned to Marcus Ginyard and said "This hurts."
And Ginyard said "It hurts every time we have to hear Kansas. It hurts every time we think about it, every time we see that Sports Illustrated and every time we have to look at things like that. It hurts because obviously this team wanted to do more."
So the logical question: how did it feel to have your coach send you home and then see him watching Kansas Monday night with that sticker on his chest, Marcus?