From Sunday's College Basketball column:

Ever since North Carolina won its fifth NCAA title in April, there's been a good-natured debate brewing about which championship team is better: 2005 or 2009?

On Sept. 4, those bragging rights will be on the line.

UNC guard Wayne Ellington's reaction after to falling to No. 28 and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Thursday night's draft: "They'll be sorry,'' he told the Philadelphia Daily News, referring to the first 27 teams that didn't draft him.

North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough, who could be taken as early as 11th in the NBA draft Thursday night, said he debated whether to accept the invitation to sit in the Green Room at Madison Square Garden.

"But it's always been a dream of mine to be there and shake Mr. Stern's hand,” Hansbrough said during a phone interview Tuesday.

The NBA is expected to release its list of invitees to Thursday’s draft later today. But one player who will definitely be in the so-called “green room” at Madison Square Garden in New York: UNC forward Tyler Hansbrough.

“He was planning to go up there either way, but when he got the call and invitation, he was pretty happy,’’ his father, Gene Hansbrough, said this morning.

So what does a soon-to-be first-round draft pick do between workouts?

Go car shopping.

Former North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough spent last weekend checking out the sleek rides at Performance BMW in Chapel Hill, he writes in his blog at NBA.com.

Would anyone be surprised if Charlotte took Tyler Hansbrough with the 12th pick in the NBA Draft?

Sure, that's higher than most projections for the ACC's career leading scorer, and the Bobcats have other needs, but we're talking about the Tar Cats (or is it Bob Heels?).

Even before dyed-in-the-wool baby blues Larry Brown and Michael Jordan became the floundering Bobcats' braintrust, Charlotte had a yen for Heels and certainly had no problem overvaluing them (Sean May at 13 anyone?).

Former UNC player Tyler Hansbrough works out for the Bobcats in Charlotte on Wednesday, June 10, 2009.

Now that Tyler Hansbrough's North Carolina career is over, with that nagging can-he-win-a-title question answered, the next question is which set of NBA broadcasters will be talking about how hard he works next season and how often they'll have a chance to bring it up.

The site which projects John Wall as the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, NBADraft.net, sees Hansbrough as the 25th pick in the first round, after teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington as well as Duke's Gerald Henderson and Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeff Teague and James Johnson. (Of those underclassmen, only Johnson has so far announced his intention to enter the draft. UPDATE: Teague, too.)

Alan Hahn, who covers the Knicks for Newsday and knows as much about basketball as he does about hockey (quite a lot, actually), sees an NBA future for Hansbrough, although maybe not the future Hansbrough envisions for himself.

DETROIT — Over the years, North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough has donated scores of his national trophies to the school's basketball museum. But after the Tar Heels blew out Michigan State 89-72 to win the NCAA title Monday night, he said he finally found one thing he wants to keep.

"This net — I'm not going to give them this net,'' he said, referring to the freshly-cut rope around his neck. "I'll hide it."

Hansbrough finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, and was a member of the all-tournament team. As another reward, the notoriously-dedicated workout maestro didn't plan to go anywhere near a gym on Tuesday.

"I'm giving myself a week off,'' he said, grinning ear to ear.

DETROIT — Can't get enough of UNC forward Tyler Hansbrough? In today's Daily American Republic — the paper in Hansbrough's homedown of Poplar Bluff, Missouri — reporters Alex Abate and Brian Rosener write about how CBS arrived to tour the town earlier this week to tape a segment. They also look in on Hansbrough's family, and look back on Hansbrough's postseason championship career in high school.