Wayne Ellington

Wayne Ellington first had to watch Episcopal Academy co-star Gerald Henderson and a pair of North Carolina teammates, Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, learn of their respective NBA destinations. The grueling wait also included Ellington, a standout wing guard for three seasons at North Carolina, standing in nervous anticipation before his hometown 76ers took a pass on him at pick No. 17 and instead selected UCLA freshman guard Jrue Holiday. Ellington's dream of playing in the NBA finally came true at 10:11 p.m., when he was plucked by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 28 choice in the first round.

North Carolina starting guard Wayne Ellington will return for his sophomore season, according to yesterday's Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer. Guard Ty Lawson also will return for his sophomore season and forward Tyler Hansbrough will return as a junior. Ellington, an Episcopal Academy product, averaged 11.7 points. "He didn't do what he thought he might be able to do this season, so he's coming back to school," Wayne Ellington Sr. told the newspaper. "

Playaz was played by a player. His name is Keon Lawrence and he's a 6-foot scoring machine from Weequahic High School in Newark, N.J. Lawrence did the playing last night, drilling the game-winning three-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to lead Roadrunners past defending champion Playaz, 112-111, in the championship game of the 46th annual Albert C. Donofrio Classic at the Fellowship House in Conshohocken. The trey gave the Missouri-bound Lawrence a game-high 35 points, and it came against the best.

THE LINES (TOMORROW AT DETROIT) Connecticut vs. Michigan State: Connecticut favored by 4; total: 133 North Carolina vs. Villanova: North Carolina favored by 7 1/2; total: 159. MONEY LINES Connecticut -$190; Michigan St. +$170 North Carolina -$360; Villanova +$300 CONNECTICUT DOUBLE RESULT UConn leads at half & wins: 1-1 Michigan State leads at half & wins: 5-2 Michigan State leads at half & UConn wins: 5-1...

After a handful of early-season upsets, Davidson was hoping to join the crowd. Wayne Ellington thought otherwise. The Episcopal Academy product scored 20 points and made key plays late to help North Carolina avoid a major scare and beat Davidson, 72-68, last night in Charlotte. Trailing for much of the second half, North Carolina (1-0) closed the game strong. Ellington's free throw with 3:44 left put the Tar Heels ahead to stay. His jumper with a little more than a minute left made it a three-point game.

North Carolina made everything look easy in its first two NCAA Tournament games, from running out to big early leads to cracking the 100-point mark with plenty of time left on the clock. The only people who don't sound all that impressed are, well, those same Tar Heels. "We don't think that winning two games in the NCAA Tournament is a huge success for us," junior Marcus Ginyard said. Fair enough. But even the hard-to-please coach of the tournament's overall No. 1 seed can't deny how sharp his team looked here after the Tar Heels' 108-77 rout of Arkansas in yesterday's second round in Raleigh, N.C. Now Roy Williams' team - after putting on a show for its home-state fans - is off and running to the round of 16. "We were pretty doggone good," Williams said.

When you're as good as Wayne Ellington is, there's no such thing as luck. With 3.2 seconds left in a thrilling "You had to be there" game between Inter-Ac League powerhouses Episcopal Academy and Germantown Academy, the junior from Episcopal had just one option left. Down by 51-50, with nine seconds left, Ellington raced the length of the court, driving to the hoop. Just before releasing his game-winning attempt, though, he stumbled and was fouled. As the whistle blew, Ellington flipped a shot from outside the lane that bounced off the glass and into the bucket for a stupefying deuce that sent the Churchmen faithful into a frenzy and gave Episcopal a 52-51 lead.

The Daily News spoke with a coach from a team that played both North Carolina and Villanova this season. In exchange for anonymity, he broke down the offensive and defensive keys to winning for both the Wildcats and the Tar Heels. WHY NORTH CAROLINA WILL WIN: Last year Carolina got embarrassed in the Final Four. These kids came back for this game. Mentally, they have been waiting almost a year for this opportunity for redemption. Look for Carolina to be focused and ready to go. WHY VILLANOVA WILL WIN: Teams underestimate the physicality that 'Nova plays with because of its size.

Tyler Hansbrough scored 25 points to lead No. 1 North Carolina to a 90-61 rout of visiting Kent State last night. Episcopal Academy product Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson both had 17 points for the Tar Heels (14-0), who never trailed during their final nonconference tuneup before Atlantic Coast Conference play starts Sunday at No. 19 Clemson, pulling away late for their fourth straight victory by at least 25 points. Despite being without three members of the rotation, North Carolina displayed enough depth to extend its best start since opening with 17 victories a decade ago. The Tar Heels also matched their longest winning streak under coach Roy Williams - whose 2004-05 team won 14 straight on its way to the school's last national championship.

Wayne Ellington, the Episcopal Academy graduate named outstanding player of the Final Four after North Carolina won the NCAA title, yesterday declared for the NBA draft. Ellington joined teammate Ty Lawson at a news conference in Chapel Hill. Both juniors said they are leaving UNC to turn pro, which wasn't a surprise. "Winning a championship definitely had a lot to do with it," Ellington said. "There's no better way to go out. It's something that's very hard to achieve and we worked for it. " An NBA scout said during the Final Four that he thought Ellington had solidified his place late in the first round of the draft.

Wayne Ellington first had to watch Episcopal Academy co-star Gerald Henderson and a pair of North Carolina teammates, Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, learn of their respective NBA destinations. The grueling wait also included Ellington, a standout wing guard for three seasons at North Carolina, standing in nervous anticipation before his hometown 76ers took a pass on him at pick No. 17 and instead selected UCLA freshman guard Jrue Holiday. Ellington's dream of playing in the NBA finally came true at 10:11 p.m., when he was plucked by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 28 choice in the first round.

With the NBA draft now 13 days away, the 76ers auditioned another group of five players yesterday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Sixers, who own the 17th pick, have said they are looking to get a guard in that spot. As was the case at the team's first session on Friday, only backcourt men were in the gym. Among the invitees were Temple's Dionte Christmas and North Carolina's Wayne Ellington, the latter of whom played at Episcopal Academy. Darren Collison of UCLA, Jack McClinton of Miami, and Marcus Thornton of Louisiana State were also on hand.

The two-day NBA draft combine returned yesterday to its previous home after being held the last three years in Orlando, and along with the change in venue came a different format. Instead of evaluating the invited players in five-on-five scrimmages open to the media, the assembled league front-office personnel and coaches limited the proceedings to watching the prospects go through various drills in sessions that are closed to the press. This marked the first year that full-court scrimmages were not conducted.

Wayne Ellington, the Episcopal Academy graduate named outstanding player of the Final Four after North Carolina won the NCAA title, yesterday declared for the NBA draft. Ellington joined teammate Ty Lawson at a news conference in Chapel Hill. Both juniors said they are leaving UNC to turn pro, which wasn't a surprise. "Winning a championship definitely had a lot to do with it," Ellington said. "There's no better way to go out. It's something that's very hard to achieve and we worked for it. " An NBA scout said during the Final Four that he thought Ellington had solidified his place late in the first round of the draft.

While it still may be difficult to determine whether Wayne Ellington is first-round material for the NBA draft, one thing is clear: He undoubtedly didn't hurt his chances with his performance in the NCAA tournament. Ellington finished a terrific six-game stretch Monday night, scoring 17 first-half points to fuel North Carolina's hot start in an 89-72 victory over Michigan State that gave the Tar Heels the 2009 national championship. Ellington, a guard from Episcopal Academy, averaged 19.2 points in the tournament, second on the team.

The NCAA championship game may have matched two teams on a mission, but Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington made sure that North Carolina would not fall short of its goal to reach the top of the college basketball mountain after falling short last year. With Lawson directing the show and Ellington smoothly stroking jumpers from both sides of the arc, the Tar Heels won the fifth national championship in school history last night, racing out to a 24-point first-half lead and rolling to an 89-72 victory over Michigan State before a record crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field.

DETROIT - Wayne Ellington nailed it, which is something he has been doing for weeks now; no, months. He was talking on the day before the national championship game, talking about what it would take for him and his North Carolina teammates to survive in the enormous green cauldron that was Ford Field last night. Michigan State wore the visiting uniforms as the lower seed, but the charade ended there. There were 72,922 in the stadium, 85 percent of them wearing green-and-white. Carolina was the better team and everybody knew it, but the atmosphere was so uniquely partisan for an NCAA Final Four.

Take a trip back through Villanova's Final Four run. That little speedburner point guard for American who threw a scare at 'Nova in the first round. The future pros from UCLA and Duke who went away quietly. Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, a force of nature inside. North Carolina, tonight's opponent at the Final Four in the NCAA national semifinals at Ford Field, has all the parts, so Villanova could accomplish its keys to winning and still not win. Ty Lawson is the best little speedburner point guard in college hoops.

The Daily News spoke with a coach from a team that played both North Carolina and Villanova this season. In exchange for anonymity, he broke down the offensive and defensive keys to winning for both the Wildcats and the Tar Heels. WHY NORTH CAROLINA WILL WIN: Last year Carolina got embarrassed in the Final Four. These kids came back for this game. Mentally, they have been waiting almost a year for this opportunity for redemption. Look for Carolina to be focused and ready to go. WHY VILLANOVA WILL WIN: Teams underestimate the physicality that 'Nova plays with because of its size.

THE LINES (TOMORROW AT DETROIT) Connecticut vs. Michigan State: Connecticut favored by 4; total: 133 North Carolina vs. Villanova: North Carolina favored by 7 1/2; total: 159. MONEY LINES Connecticut -$190; Michigan St. +$170 North Carolina -$360; Villanova +$300 CONNECTICUT DOUBLE RESULT UConn leads at half & wins: 1-1 Michigan State leads at half & wins: 5-2 Michigan State leads at half & UConn wins: 5-1...