Every year, in April, funny things happen with college underclassmen who are considering early entry into the NBA draft.

Many of the collegians say they haven't yet thought about their decisions, which in most cases is untrue. Others say for weeks that they "plan" or "expect" to return to school, only to change their minds closer to the NBA's early entry deadline (April 27 this year). Still others promise that they'll be back in college, but nobody believes them until the deadline actually passes.

Another twist is that, under NCAA rules, every underclassman is permitted one "test the waters" NBA attempt during his college career. This permits a prospect to file for early entry, participate in the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando at the league's expense, and get direct feedback from scouts, general managers and other personnel evaluators. As long as the prospect doesn't sign with an agent or otherwise act as a professional, he can take his name out of the draft by the NBA's withdrawal deadline (June 16 this year) without jeopardizing his college eligibility.

Complicating matters further for fans trying to follow such things, the NBA directs all team officials not to make public comments to the media about college underclassmen. NBA officials communicate each spring with third parties (e.g., North Carolina coach Roy Williams and N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe this year) about the projected draft status of top underclassmen, but that information typically remains private unless one of the coaches or players volunteers it after a prospect's early entry decision has been made.

Below are comments from NBA officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the league's policy on discussing college underclassmen, on the Triangle's four early entry candidates: UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, UNC's Ty Lawson, N.C. State's J.J. Hickson and UNC's Wayne Ellington.

Name: Tyler Hansbrough
School: North Carolina
Class: Junior
College Position: Center
NBA Position: Power Forward
Current Draft Projection: Latter half of first round.
Early Entry This Year? TBA.
NBA Quote: "This is a common debate, obviously. Some guys don't like him at all as a pro. Others believe he'll be in the league — a good player, now, not a great player — for 10 years. Nobody questions his work ethic or his productivity in college. But he'll have to continue to improve his perimeter game and some other things to stick in the NBA. If he does that — and a lot of people think he will, because of his approach to the game — he'll be fine. I would want him on my team. There's just no way he'll be a post scorer up here the way he was in college. No way."

Name: Ty Lawson
School: North Carolina
Class: Sophomore
College Position: Point Guard
NBA Position: Point Guard
Current Draft Projection: Latter half of first round.
Early Entry This Year? TBA.
NBA Quote: "There's no doubt that he's an NBA point guard. (He has) the handle, amazing speed with the ball, good vision, good passing ability, and he's extremely strong for a player his size. Nobody is going to push him around. The question is, how much better is he going to get? He's not a great 3-point shooter right now at the college distance, so that's a concern, and he's only so-so defensively. If he gets better at those things, he could be a starter (in the NBA). If he doesn't, he's a backup, at best. But he'll play in this league."

Name: J.J. Hickson
School: N.C. State
Class: Freshman
College Position: Center
NBA Position: Power Forward
Current Draft Projection: Latter half of first round.
Early Entry This Year? Yes (will test waters).
NBA Quote: "This isn't complicated at all. If you're 6-9 and you can put the ball in the basket on a consistent basis against people your size, you're on our radar. Does he have a long way to go? Yes. Does he have a lot to learn? Yes. Is he ready to play in the NBA today? No. But it's no secret that a lot of teams in this league will take a chance on big guys with scoring ability, even if they have to wait a year or two for the payoff."

Name: Wayne Ellington
School: North Carolina
Class: Sophomore
College Position: Wing Guard
NBA Position: Wing Guard
Current Draft Projection: Second round.
Early Entry This Year? TBA.
NBA Quote: "I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I don't think he's a player we would consider drafting right now. Can he play in the NBA some day? Absolutely. But let's face it: Right now, he's a 6-3 guy with a beautiful (shooting) stroke and not enough other things going for him. He needs to work on getting his shot off against quicker defenders, he needs to continue to improve his ability to put the ball on the floor, and he needs to get a lot better defensively. He's at a school where he can learn all of those things and have some fun along the way. I guess it's possible that someone would use a first-round pick on him (this year), but that would surprise me. If he answers those questions, though, he'll be a (first-round) lock next year."

Next Time: More early entry variables.