If there's a surprise about the decisions of UNC's big three, it's that Wayne Ellington decided to test the waters, but Tyler Hansbrough did not.
Of the three, counting Ty Lawson, Ellington is the least ready to go. He may use the time to figure out what he needs to work on next year, but it'll be a big surprise if he is a first-round pick this year. He has no discernible point guard skills, and at 6-3, he's going to be asked to guard guys like Kobe Bryant and Josh Howard. He can't do it, and he won't score much on them, either.
Lawson is in a different situation. At 5-11, on a good day, he's short, but he's extremely quick, and a running team (say the Suns) who might like a backup for Steve Nash as he starts to wind down his extraordinary career, Maybe the Mavs or the Lakers or someone sees a definite spot for a guy like that. As he goes through his workouts, the flameout against Kansas and the difficulties surrounding his injuries may recede as teams realize just how fast he is.
As for Hansbrough, he's taking a bit of a gamble, although not a huge one. During his senior year, there's an excellent chance that the backlash that started this spring will continue. It won't affect his game, but it may well affect how he's regarded. And for one last season, his game will be picked apart. He has a phenomenal intensity, true, but when he's done with college, he'll be looking at guys like Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Tyson Chandler, Elton Brand, among others. The things that worked in college won't work with guys who are taller, stronger, and who can jump through the roof - not to mention that their intensity is pretty high, too.
But that's a year away. For now, he gets the challenge he's had for the last three years, and while UNC has had a lot of success, they've been embarrassed in the post-season every year of his career: first George Mason, then Georgetown, then this year, of course, Kansas.
Against Mason, Roy Williams made a huge blunder, pressing late when he thought his team was down three but the score was actually tied. The meltdown against Georgetown was spectacular, blowing an 11 point lead and collapsing in overtime, and then going down 28 - 28! - in the first half to Kansas.
For the hypercompetitive Hansbrough, the desire to go out on a high note must be really powerful, and what happened against Kansas is surely not the way he wanted to finish his career.