David Glenn spoke with NBA scouts, who gave critiques of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington with THF commentary.
Tyler Hansbrough
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."
THF's Take: There is nothing in this that screams go pro now or come back to school other than the need for a perimeter game and "other things" which would help. The questions becomes whether it would be better for Hansbrough to work out those issues in a senior season at UNC trying to win a national title or sitting on the bench in the NBA. I think coming back is better but I am also hopelessly biased towards seeing UNC win a national title.
Ty Lawson
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."
THF's Take: In short, Lawson has a NBA caliber game right now with concerns about his shooting and defense. The intriguing point is the question as to whether he can get any better. That kind of statement coupled with the perception that Lawson is not really interested in college tells me he will probably go to the NBA now. If he is as good as he can get in college why continue playing in college? I think that reasoning might push him out the door more than anything else.
Wayne Ellington
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."
THF's Take: This is clear cut advice for Ellington to come back to school and improve on several areas. Of course we have no idea who this scout is and how much what he says is reflected in the opinion of other scouts, however this is a fairly strong assessment that Ellington needs at least one more year to add more dimensions to his game and then perhaps he will be ready to roll.