UNC Pro Day news, notes and Takeaways

Last year only one head coach came to Pro Day in Chapel Hill and it was Rex Ryan. He came and watched defensive end, Quinton Coples, and in April the Jets made him their first round pick. This year the Tar Heels are expected to have several players drafted this year including early round projections Jonathan Cooper, Sylvester Williams, Giovani Bernard and Kevin Reddick. There was a very good turn out compared to last year.

• Two NFL head coaches attended the pro day, Gus Bradley (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals).
• Three NFL general managers were also in attendance (Lions, Jets and Jaguars).
• A scout from every NFL team was present.
• Former NFL players and Tar Heels Quan Sturdivant and Brooks Foster participated in the workout.
• Senior wide receiver Jhay Boyd had a 41 1/2 inch vertical and it could have been  higher, but the device did not measure any higher.
• Boyd also ran an unofficial 4.4 in the 40. After an injury ridden senior season he had as good of a pro day he could have hoped for.
• Marvin Lewis and a Bengals scout was seen talking to Giovani Bernard, which goes back to what I said in early February that Bernard will not make it past the Bengals fifth pick in the second round.
• Jaguars sending the head coach and GM 
• Patriots, Texans, Packers and Broncos scouts all seemed very impressed with Bernard's quickness and explosiveness
• Coach Fedora tweeted that "our guys had a good day in front of the entire NFL".
• Casey Barth has a lot of work to get onto an NFL roster as no NFL scouts watched him kick
• Giovani Bernard said in an interview that he "does not want to come off the field" in the NFL.
• Former Tar Heel quarterback Cam Sexton was on hand to throw passes to Bernard and the group of receivers. 

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Tar Heel pro basketball weekly Recap

As basketball season is winding down, here is a look at a few stories this week around the NBA and over seas.

NBA

• Ty Lawson is battling a bruised heel that caused him to miss Denver's game against the 76ers on Thursday night. The Nuggets should not be without their floor general too long as he is listed as day-to-day.
• Tyler Hansbrough started two games for the Pacers this week as David West is battling a back injury. Hansbrough has averaged 16 points and 12.5 rebounds in those two games. While being without West is a big loss for the Pacers, Hansbrough is proving himself to be a capable fill in starter for the Pacers.
• Vince Carter became the 28th NBA player to reach 22,000 points in their career on Monday. Carter has been able to give the Mavericks an offensive lift off the bench this season and in his 14th year he shows he is still a very capable scorer.
• Wayne Ellington and Tyler Zeller nearly helped the Cavs shock the world this week and nearly ended the Miami Heat's winning streak, despite being without Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. Ellington led the Cavs with 20 points and Zeller had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Overseas

• Will Graves led Malvin to the semifinal of the playoffs in Uruguay. Graves had 25 point and ten rebounds. Malvin will resume play on Monday, March 25, against Aguada.
• Sean May and Jawad Williams will look to help Paris-Levallois end a three game losing streak on Saturday. In their only game this week May was the only player to have double digits in scoring with 23 points and also led the team with eight rebounds. Williams chipped in with eight points as he struggled shooting from the field.
• Deon Thompson had 15 points and five rebounds for ALBA-Berlin in a win on Wednesday. ALBA-Berlin did not have the same outcome on Sunday as they suffered a seven point loss to Phoenix Hagen, but Thompson had a nice game with 18 points and six rebounds. Thompson and ALBA-Berlin is 16-10 on the season.
• Justin Knox will lead the Vestelspor Manisa on Saturday in Turkey, after a two week break in play.
• Reyshawn Terry is expected to miss a few more games in Lebanon for Champville SC, as he suffered a groin injury in early March.

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Announcing the winner of our UNCPros March Madness Tournament Challenge

 The 2013 NCAA Tournament lived up to the expectations. It was full of Cinderellas, upsets, and emotion leading up to the crowning of Louisville as the National Champion. The selection committee got it right by naming the Rick Pitino led Cardinals as the #1 overall seed.

   We held our first March Madness Bracket Challenge this year, with martin120499 coming out on top (once we know your real name, we will update this post). That person wins this ProsReport Champions shirt.

To claim your prize, please send an email to CalebW@prosreport.com with your address. Thanks for playing!

***

 Tired of the same boring office pool? Join the UNCPros March Madness Tournament Challenge Today! Win & Compete against fellow UNC fans and possibly some UNC Pros. 
  To celebrate the launch of ProsReport.com, we are giving away free T-shirts to the top 10 finishers (pictured left). We have several other schools that we cover such as Florida St., WVU, Syracuse, etc., that we will bring under one roof — us included — next month at Prosreport.com.

  Click on the Group Name below to sign up. It’s that simple, and best of all, it’s free!

  For Participants, Standings and more information, Follow @UNCPros on Twitter and stay tuned here. Guidelines are listed on ESPN.com on the Tournament Page.

  Good Luck and Welcome to March Madness !

  Click here to join:

UNCPros March Madness Bracket Challenge

North Carolina Tar Heels get an 8 seed in the South Region

March Madness has officially begun! The Tar Heels just missed claiming an ACC Championship in what has been considered a down year. The committee did the Tar Heels no favors today giving them the eight seed in the south region. Their first round matchup is against a very tough Villanova team. If they do make it to the third round they will have to take on the Big 12 champion Kansas Jayhawks. We know how the committee likes to create story lines as Roy Williams could face his former team for the second consecutive season in the tournament. Last year the Jayhawks knocked off the top seeded Tar Heels that were without their starting point guard, Kendall Marshall. 

I am a bit surprised at the Tar Heels being an eight seed as they were ranked 16th in the RPI and had the 11th strongest schedule. That being said,what you need to know about the Villanova Wildcats is they are well coached by Jay Wright. The Tar Heels matchup very well with them as far as size goes. Sophmore forward, JayVaughn Pinkston is the Wildcats leading scorer. The Wildcats have been battle tested in the Big East and have wins against Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown and Marquette.

At fist glance I think it is safe to say that the South region is very tough. The top four seeds (Kansas, Georgetown, Florida and Michigan) have all been discussed as potential number one seeds in the last three weeks. Throw in one of the hottest teams in the NCAA in the last month of the season and a team that can shoot and play lights out in North Carolina. By this time next week will all by ripping up our brackets!

The Tar Heels will play on Friday and the time will be determined later this week.

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UNCPros Friday night Recap

(Greg Nelson/SI)

NBA Action:

• Raymond Felton had 23 points, six rebounds and four assist in the a Knicks' win. Felton shot 50% from the field.

• Harrison Barnes had 16 points, six rebounds and 3 steals, but it was not enough as the Warriors fell 94-86 to the Celtics.

• Tyler Zeller had 9 points and five rebounds in the Cavaliers 105-89 loss to the Clippers. Wayne Ellington chipped in with 9 points off the bench.

• Vince Carter had 20 points in 29 minutes off the bench for the Mavs in a 98-90 win over the Nets.

• Danny Green had 15 points, he was one of eight Spurs in double figures in a 130-102 route of the Kings.

• Ty Lawson had 11 points, seven assist and struggled shooting the ball going 5-14 Friday night, but he was clutch when it mattered as he hit the game winning shot with 0.2 seconds left as the Nuggets knocked off the Thunder. Watch the highlights here.

Overseas Action:

• In Uruguay  Will Graves led Malvin to a win in their first game of the playoffs. Graves had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assist. Since joining Malvin Graves has given them a lift they needed and they are playing their best basketball of the season at the right time.

• Deon Thompson had 10 points for ALBA Berlin last night in a loss.

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