Is it just me, or is this year’s NBA pre-draft saga producing an unusually high number of relevant ACC stories? Usually a few guys declare and that’s it. We read about how they are doing and where they might be picked, but that’s it.
Not this year. To help you poor folks who have no other way to get your news, I’ll run down a few of the most recent developments.
Just yesterday, ACC center Eric Williams said he’s returning to Winston-Salem for his senior year. I think this is a good idea for Big Eric. Williams is a very talented player, but he’s “cursed” with a serious pro athlete disease – he’s too nice. Despite a pretty good scowl, Williams is just not very aggressive. He has little killer instinct. That can be learned, but it’s not something to try to develop while earning a paycheck. He’d be gobbled up in the League. Aggression is something you can develop and hopefully Eric will pick up some tips this year.
John Gilchrist has no such “nice guy” problems. Quite the opposite. He may actually be too much of an asshole for the NBA. Read this article where he talks a bit about his experience at Maryland. Not once does he fail to blame others for his and his team’s failures this year. The coaches were too demanding. His teammates weren’t serious enough. College is too restrictive. Waaah. Waaah. Grow up, John. You’re a hell of a player, but to be truly good, the head has to match the body. You have a lot to learn.
In older news, Shavlik Randolph says he too is returning. Surprisingly, even though he seems unsuited for the League at this point, several teams gave him workouts. I like this quote about his workout with the Charlotte Bobcats –

When asked about Randolph later, Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff paused and said, “I would like all of [the underclassmen] to stay in college. I just think they are missing the boat with the caliber of college coaches we have, and given the opportunity to school them and teach them.”

Translation: Randolph is a good kid, so I’m not going to rip him, but he has no business in the NBA at this point.
Jackie Manuel had his dream of being drafted destroyed when he broke his foot at the Chicago camp. According to N&O writer Luciana Chavez, Manuel “had been projected as a possible second-round pick for the June 28 NBA Draft.” Chavez also thinks that Michael Jackson would project as a good babysitter and that pigs project as fantastic flyers.
Lastly, Von Wafer has apparently signed with an agent. I have no evidence about this, but I suspect (hope, actually) that his new agent has lots of contacts in Turkey.