Heels say team goals come first

CHAPEL HILL — One of the few apparent obstacles to North Carolina’s NCAA title hopes could be what Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson learned this summer.

They explored their NBA draft possibilities by attending pre-draft workouts in Orlando and working out for NBA teams as underclassmen.

Then they returned to North Carolina, joining Tyler Hansbrough to make the Tar Heels the overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA title.

If their personal goals for improvement don’t match coach Roy Williams’ plans for the team, there could be friction.

Ellington said that isn’t going to be a problem.

“We’re the type of team that really only has one goal, and that’s to win,” he told reporters Monday.

A guard who will be a junior next season, Ellington said his personal improvement objectives should make the team better. He said he needs to get stronger physically and improve as a defender.

Ellington said he is fine offensively, although getting stronger might help him get to the basket and the free throw line.
Green, who will be a senior forward, said improving his lateral quickness is one of his goals.

He said gaining strength, speed and another year of experience could help him become a first-round pick.
He said the team still comes first and is willing to accept a role coming off the bench again, if necessary.

Green also said there are no lingering hard feelings within the team over his somewhat unexpected decision to explore the draft.

“There were some misunderstandings, some things that were put in the paper that I think the media might have blown out of proportion a little bit,” Green said. “I talked to Coach about that. We all had a sit down and everything was fine.”

Lawson isn’t enrolled in summer school and was out of town Monday. But other players addressed the potential dangers of entering the season as such a heavy favorite.

Although the players already are talking about getting to Detroit for the Final Four, Hansbrough said they learned last season how to value each step along the way.

They finished atop the ACC and won the conference tournament and the East Regional before falling to Kansas in the national semifinals.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure and a lot of talk about us winning the whole thing,” Ellington said. “But we’re just going to have to enjoy it.”