Felton, May, Williams to reveal plans

North Carolina’s post-championship saga of rumors and innuendos will come to an end today as Raymond Felton, Marvin Williams and Sean May announce their plans to either stay in school or jump to the NBA.

The three men’s basketball players will hold a joint press conference at 1:30 p.m. in the Smith Center, the Department of Athletics announced Thursday.

Felton, Williams and May are the final three question marks for the Tar Heels, who have lost Jackie Manuel, Melvin Scott and Jawad Williams to graduation and junior Rashad McCants to the NBA.

McCants held a press conference April 13 to announce his intentions to turn pro.

Felton is the most likely of the three to jump to the NBA, though all seem ready to declare. The junior is considered one of the top point-guard prospects in the country for his fast-break efficiency and improved shooting.

He said Thursday that he would be joined by his parents, Raymond Sr. and Barbara, at the conference — just as McCants was last week.

And like McCants, Felton said his decision had been made well in advance.

“I’ve known for a while,” he said.

Felton is also considered the most indispensable player on the team.

“I think whatever Raymond decides to do, everybody else will make their decision according to that because he’s the one that made our team go,” Scott said in an interview last week.

“Without him out there distributing the ball to everybody, we wouldn’t be where we ended up.”

Marvin Williams is considered the team’s best pro prospect. The athletic 6-foot-9 forward is projected as the No. 1 pick in the draft by ESPN.com even though he did not start a single game this season.

The freshman was one of the only elite players in his high school class to go to college at all. A record eight prep players were selected in the first round of the 2004 draft.

May was arguably UNC’s best player last season, as he earned first-team All-America honors and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four with a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in the final game.

But May, who is also listed at 6-foot-9, is undersized to play center in the NBA and would need to develop more of a perimeter game to be successful — similar to former Tar Heel Antawn Jamison’s adjustment.

May is scheduled to announce his plans today, though he insisted Wednesday that the press conference is “not really about me.”

Regardless of who is declaring, the trio’s teammates remained tight-lipped Thursday.

Both Reyshawn Terry and Wes Miller said they did not know what their compatriots were going to do.

“I don’t know a thing,” Miller said. “I am just as clueless as you are.”

Felton refused to reveal his intentions, saving the drama for this afternoon.

“I can’t tell you that,” Felton said. “You gotta come to the press conference.”

Senior Writer Brandon Parker contributed to this report.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.