Apr 7, 2009 4:07 pm US/Eastern
Tar Heels Return Home To Celebrate 5th Title
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) ―
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University of North Carolina fans celebrate after the Tar Heels defeated Michigan State in the NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four game on April 7, 2009, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Chris Keane/Getty Images
North Carolina has brought another NCAA championship trophy home to campus.
The Tar Heels joined thousands of blue-clad fans at the Smith Center on Tuesday for a rally to celebrate the program's fifth national title and its first since 2005.
Coach Roy Williams was the last to arrive, and he entered carrying the trophy and the net he helped cut down at Ford Field in Detroit.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the Tar Heels beat Michigan State 89-72 for the title. Before leaving Detroit, Williams said he doesn't have a timetable for when juniors Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will decide if they will enter the NBA draft.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
DETROIT (AP) — North Carolina coach Roy Williams says he doesn't have a specific timetable when juniors Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will decide if they will go to the NBA.
Williams said Tuesday morning that he hasn't spoken to the Tar Heels stars about their decision. Both players entered their names in the 2008 draft but returned to school.
Soon after the team's 2005 title four underclassmen opted for the NBA — Rashad McCants, Sean May, Raymond Felton and Marvin Williams — decisions the coach expected for the most part.
Williams has an idea what Lawson and Ellington will do, but "not with the conviction that I had last time."
The Heels were preparing for a championship celebration Tuesday afternoon at the Smith Center after beating Michigan State for the program's fifth national championship.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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