The Morning Dish – Wednesday, April 6th
Tar Heel Exodus?: Less than 24 hours after North Carolina claimed its fourth national championship in school history, attention turned to the speculation about who will not be back in Tar Heel blue next season. Junior forward Rashad McCants could lead a potential exodus that might also include juniors Raymond Felton and Sean May and freshman phenom Marvin Williams. Coach Roy Williams said he expects McCants to enter the NBA Draft but is unsure about the other three underclassmen. In addition to these players, North Carolina will lose seniors Jawad Williams, Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott to graduation. It doesn’t take a seasoned basketball analyst to read the writing on the wall – a Tar Heel repeat in 2006 seems highly unlikely unless several players decline the prospects of fame and fortune at the NBA level and return to school.
Wright to Test His Draft Value: Texas A&M junior forward Antoine Wright will enter the NBA Draft this year, but he wants to leave open the possibility of returning to school. Wright averaged 17.8 points and six rebounds per game last season, hitting 45 percent of his three-point attempts. A rare specimen for the Aggies, Wright is already ranked ninth among Texas A&M’s all-time scorers. In coach Billy Gillespie’s first season at College Station, the Aggies finished 21-10 and reached the third round of the NIT.
Azubuike Enters Draft: Kentucky junior forward Kelenna Azubuike will enter the NBA Draft, but coach Tubby Smith wants him to consider returning to school. If Azubuike does not hire an agent, he can return to the Wildcats if he doesn’t receive positive feedback while determining his draft position. Azubuike led the Wildcats with 14.7 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding with 4.7 per game.
Wafer Appears Done at Florida State: Sophomore guard Von Wafer likely will not return to Florida State, opting instead to test the NBA Draft. Wafer’s draft value is lower than other guards right now, but he could improve his value through pre-draft workouts. Wafer averaged 12.5 points per game last season for the Seminoles and was 10th in the ACC in three-point shooting. Wafer did not play most of the final games of the season for Florida State because of disciplinary reasons. Coach Leonard Hamilton seemed to support Wafer’s decision and did not indicate that there was much of a chance that Wafer would return.
Adams Needs More Seasoning: Arizona junior forward Hassan Adams should return to college if he listens to the word on the street from several NBA sources. Arizona coach Lute Olson said he expects Adams to return to the Wildcats for his senior season because his value would increase with another year of experience. Olson said NBA contacts have unanimously indicated that Adams could improve several elements of his game during a senior year, including his long-distance shooting touch, ball-handling skills and mid-range game. Adams declared for the NBA Draft shortly after the Wildcats lost to Illinois in the Chicago regional final. He has not hired an agent, giving him the option of returning to school.
Bears Replace Nessman: California officials hired former Bear Dennis Gates to replace George Nessman, who left California’s coaching staff to become head coach at San Jose State. Gates will become an assistant coach after playing for the Bears from 1998 to 2002. He averaged 3.8 points per game during his career.
Odom Rumors Continue to Swirl: According to South Carolina coach Dave Odom, there’s no truth to the rumor that he has agreed in principle to become the next coach of the Virginia Cavaliers. But he also did not eliminate the rumor that he is a candidate and could possibly be interested in taking the position if approached about the job by Cavalier officials. When asked by Tarence Kinsey at the team’s banquet whether he planned to leave the team, Odom replied that as of right now, he has no plans to leave the Gamecocks. No one seems willing to offer a definitive statement, which tends to be the case in situations such as these when one school is actively courting another school’s coach.
Former Syracuse Guard Dies: Edwin “Eddie” Moss, who played for Syracuse from 1977 to 1981, died of complications caused by cancer Saturday in Durham, N.C. While running the point for the Orange, Moss became one of the school’s all-time leaders in assists and steals. He is fifth in school history with 539 assists. As a defensive specialist, he collected 230 steals, which is good for third in Syracuse history.
