Back to College

Those college basketball player that decided the test the waters of the NBA draft, and had yet to hire an agent, where forced to make a decision by 5pm yesterday. The North Carolina Tarheels received some good news at 4:43pm in an email. The email stated that Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green would return to the Tarheel program next year. This will surely make the North Carolina Tarheels the prohibitive favorite to win the National Title next year.

The Tarheel program was not the only one that would receive good news on Monday. Chase Budinger will return to Arizona next year. Budinger averaged 17.1 points per game during the 2007-08 season. Coach Lute Olsen will return to the bench this year and he is no doubt excited that Budinger will be returning this coming season.

Jeremy Pargo will return to Gonzaga for his senior season. Pargo was the West Coast Conference player of the year. He averaged 12.1 points per game and 6.0 assists.

Duke Reigns Supreme in the ACC

With the absence of point guard Tywon Lawson, describing the Tarheels as "sloppy," might just be an understatement. The Duke Bluedevils went into the Dean E. Smith Center and quieted the crowd. Duke's defense was better and they were able to hit shots from behind the arc. Duke held North Carolina to under 41% from the field and only allowed 3-17 from behind the arc. In contrast, Duke shot almost 46% from the field, including 13-29 from behind the three-point line. Duke also had six players in double figures to Carolina's four. Wayne Ellington and Danny Green where pretty much absent offensively. Alot of that can be attributed to solid defense by Duke, but Ellington and Green where a combined 4-24 and 11 points. If the Tarheels are to have any hope of avenging this loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium some 30 days from now, these two guys are going to have to step up.



Here's what Jeff Goodman of Foxsports.com wrote.

North Carolina Eaks Out An Overtime Win at Littlejohn

The North Carolina Tarheels began their conference schedule last night by traveling to Clemson's Littlejohn Colesium, taking on the number 18th ranked Clemson Tigers. This game, in my opinion, is the epitome of ACC basketball and why ACC basketball is so special. It was a track meet; up and down the court, back and forth. Clemson held a 41-38 lead at the half. Both teams had managed 81 points at the end of regulation.

In the overtime period, Clemson pulled ahead with 13.9 seconds left when Freshman sensation, Demontez Stitt made two free throws, giving the Tigers an 88-87 lead. Following two timeouts by North Carolina, the ball was put in Wayne Ellington's hands. He nailed a three pointer with 0.4 seconds left on the game clock.

It was an outstanding game for both programs. North Carolina picked up a key conference road win and proved that they could win without a dominating performance from Tyler Hansbrough. Wayne Ellington showed up big with a career high 36 points, hitting 11-19 (5-8 from behind the three point line) from the field and 9-9 from the line. And Clemson, in my opinion, really validated there place in the top 25. Their were questions as to whether Clemson was for real, given their 17-0 start last year, and then failing to make the NCAA tournament.

For more information about North Carolina vs. Clemson, click here.