UNC's Williams expects players to take their time on NBA decisions

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he expects all three of his players who are considering entering the NBA draft to wait until close to the deadline before making a final decision.

Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Danny Green have all entered their names in the NBA draft pool and have until June 16 to make a final decision. The draft is June 26.

Williams, speaking at the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame news conference in Raleigh, said he believes a player should be certain he is a first-round pick, and probably a top 20 pick, before remaining in the draft pool. But he said all situations are different and he understands why some players might stay in the draft even if there is a risk of dropping into the second round.

First-round draft picks get guaranteed contracts, and second-round picks do not.

"I do believe a young man who is considering the NBA should be a high draft pick," he said. "I really think you need to be in those top 20 picks. But each individual situation is different."

Also, Williams said he was not surprised Green decided to test his draft stock and he had been discussing that with the player. But he said Green's choice was a last-minute one, which is why it was announced a day after Tyler Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington announced their decisions.

"Danny and I had discussed it all along," Williams said. "We'd had two or three different conversations about it. And at the last minute it was, 'Let's go ahead and see what's out there.'"

Hansbrough, the national player of the year, has decided to return to school.

The NBA has an important pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., May 27-29. The league has not announced which players will be invited to that camp yet, but usually the top 60 or so prospects are invited.

Williams was one of eight joining the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday. Also inducted were NASCAR owner Richard Childress, Harlem Globetrotters' great Curley Neal, former Duke quarterback Leo Hart, former Duke athletics director Tom Butters, former UNC football player Ken Huff, administrator Bill Hensley and former Guilford coach Jack Jensen.