Awards Banquet tonight at the Dean Dome

Tonight beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST at the Dean Dome the annual UNC Basketball Awards Banquet will take place. The last piece of the puzzle of this season in celebrating the national title for this team, next season the banner will go up in the same building celebrating the national title. From the small online article at TarHeelBlue.com it says that the public is invited to attend, there is no admission charge and there is plenty of parking available in the parking lots around the Smith Center. The night will be highlighted by speeches from many on the team, a video of the 2008-09 season and awards given to members of this team.

Of course head coach Roy Williams will take to the podium and speak, as it should be, since he is the man behind this great team and great run. All of the seniors will also speak, both the scholarship and the walk ons, which I find that awesome, making them truly part of this championship squad.

Here is the list of the seven seniors that will take to the podium tonight:

• Mike Copeland
• Bobby Frasor
• Danny Green
• Tyler Hansbrough
• Patrick Moody
• J.B. Tanner
• Jack Wooten

For these young men, and probably a couple of more, this is the last time they will all be together as part of a North Carolina team. While they will be forever etched as part of the history of this great university, for them the student-athlete part is coming to an end, and the alumni is about to begin. For people like me, who has followed UNC for so long and not just as a passer by, but as a die hard fan, thinking that all of these young men won’t be donning the carolina blue next year is a bittersweet emotion. Sweet as I know they will all do well in their next part of their lives, bitter as I am still not ready to think about a bench without so many players that made the unselfish move of coming back to go for it all. And in the end they came back and proved so many wrong and showed that the NBA can wait one more year.

As far as Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, unless they have decided to come on back one more year, I doubt that they will talk about their decisions at this event. I am definitely looking forward to finding out what the two young men decide, because that will give the final (and clean) cut to the 08-09 season and bring in the 09-10 season. I still think that Lawson has already decided, and will be heading into the draft, along with Hansbrough and Green, but as not made his decision public because Ellington is still working with coach Williams in finding out where he stands (as he is a borderline first rounder).

As far as the awards that will be handed out at the banquet the Tar Heel Fan has his choices for them, and so I guess I can throw my two cents into it as well:

• Team MVP: Ty Lawson
• Most Improved: Danny Green
• Best Defender: Bobby Frasor

Tomorrow I will post any and all tidbits I find out about the dinner/event, but I leave you with this awesome video:

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