UNC Alums Performing Well, Not Making the NBA Rookie-Sophomore Game

With the announcement of the rosters of the NBA Rookie-Sophomore game, Kevin Pelton took a look at the wins above replacement player for the last two classes of pros. Oddly enough, the two players with the best numbers left off of the rosters were Ed Davis and Ty Lawson. In Davis's case, it's simply the fact that DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Favors went higher in the draft, and have done well enough to justify their inclusion. For Lawson, it's being stuck behind two point guards (Stephen Curry and Jrue Holiday) and having better but not absurdly so numbers than two stars from last season, Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings.

It's no big loss, and the selections are perfectly justifiable, but it's nice to see that statistically, the two are doing quite well in the pros, even if you won't see them during All-Star Weekend. Meanwhile, Tyler Hansbrough isn't having quite the same success, but he was name-checked specifically by Larry Bird during the press conference when Bird fired coach Jim O'Brien. Bird wanted Hansbrough to get more playing time, among other complaints. So there's that.