CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina's possible postseason
purge appears ready to begin.
The school called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to
announce the plans of junior Rashad McCants, who is expected to
enter the NBA draft after helping the Tar Heels win their fourth
national championship.
Three other Tar Heels -- juniors Sean May and Raymond Felton, and
freshman Marvin Williams -- were mum when asked Tuesday night
whether they will return to help the team defend its NCAA title.
After the team held its annual postseason awards ceremony,
Felton said he had made a decision but was not ready to announce
it. Williams said he was leaning one way, while May -- the Most
Outstanding Player of the Final Four who has said he plans to stay
to school -- would not commit to returning for his senior year.
Last week, coach Roy Williams said he expected McCants to head
for the NBA.
If all four underclassmen leave along with seniors Jawad
Williams, Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott, the Tar Heels will lose
their top seven scorers from this season's team.
Players who want to enter the NBA draft early must file by May
14. The draft is June 28.
Felton, the speedy point guard who averaged 13 points per game,
said he and his parents met with Roy Williams on Tuesday.
Though Williams said he would spend the next seven to 10 days
gathering information on the players' draft prospects, Felton said
he had made a decision and would reveal it "probably next week."
"It was difficult, but I think it's what's best for me,"
Felton said. "It's something I wanted."
Marvin Williams, a 6-foot-9 reserve who averaged 11 points, was
mentioned as an NBA draft prospect coming out of high school. He
said he plans to meet with Roy Williams on Wednesday night.
"I've been back and forth. I think I still am sometimes going
back and forth," Williams said. "I think I pretty much have my
mind made up, but I'm not sure yet."
The 6-9 May is coming off a tremendous NCAA tournament,
averaging 22.3 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 67 percent
from the field.
May said he met with Williams on Monday night.
"If it's a situation where it's an opportunity that I can't
turn down, then I might think about it," May said. "But right
now, we're just getting the information and looking at it from that
standpoint."
May said that his teammates' decisions could influence his
plans.
"I would love to come back for my fourth year," May said,
"but if it's a situation where I don't feel comfortable and the
rest of my teammates do leave, it's an option that I may look at."
Roy Williams hardly had any time to celebrate his first title
before attention turned to his underclassmen. Less than a day after
the Tar Heels beat Illinois 75-70 for the championship, he
addressed McCants' future by saying, "We could lose some guys,
there's no question about that. And we are going to lose Rashad."
On Tuesday night, Williams acknowledged it was unusual to deal
with so many possible defections.
"It's part of the coaching process," he said. "You try to
advise people and you can't advise them until you get the
information and make sure they understand you're with them --
regardless of what the choice is."