Ed Davis to forgo final two seasons

Larry Drew II was apparently surprised.

“Wtf eddavis32 youre leaving?!?!?,” the North Carolina point guard Tweeted Monday afternoon.

Sure enough, sophomore forward Ed Davis is departing from UNC two years early to pursue the NBA after declaring for the 2010 NBA Draft on Monday.

“I’ve had two great years at North Carolina both as a player and a student, and now I want to pursue my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA,” Davis said in an e-mail from the UNC Athletic Department.

“I love being a Tar Heel and am proud to know that I will always be part of this unique family.”

Davis averaged 9.2 points per game and 7.7 rebounds during his two-year stint, which was shortened earlier this season due to an injury.

Davis broke his left wrist midway through the ACC season, with his last collegiate game coming in UNC’s 64-54 home loss to Duke.

With the graduation of Deon Thompson, the Tar Heels will be without this season’s top scorers next year.

After the injury, rumors swirled that Davis would choose the draft after skipping it last season when he was considered a lottery pick — someone selected in the top 14 of the first round.

“Please stop asking if I’m leaving school or not. I’m just trying to recover from my injury and get back on the court asap,” Davis said via Twitter on Feb. 16.

The 6-foot-10, 225-pounder is slated again by many to be picked in the lottery. ESPN’s Chad Ford has Davis ranked No. 7 among draft-eligible players.

Draftexpress.com has Davis going the Philadelphia 76ers at the No. 7 slot also, though the teams are selected through a mock draft process.

Davis beat the April 25 deadline for early entry draftees on the same day underclassmen Devin Ebanks from West Virginia and Syracuse’s Wes Johnson declared.

Where Davis goes in the NBA will depend on what pick teams receive after the draft lottery, which will be held on May 18, as well as what players are available during the June 24 draft.

Also competing for lottery spots with Davis are ACC bigs Al-Farouq Aminu, a sophomore from Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors, who was recently crowned ACC Freshman of the Year.

The 2009-10 NBA rookie salary scale for draft picks had the No. 7 selection making about $7.28 million in guaranteed money over his first three years. The No. 10 pick was guaranteed $5.82 million.

UNC has produced two lottery picks in the last three drafts, with Tyler Hansbrough going 13th overall last year and Golden State scooping up Brandan Wright in 2007 with the eighth pick.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.