NBA Draft seeing Blue

The North Carolina Tarheels dominated throughout the college season, winning 33 games en route to the 2005 National Championship.\nTuesday night in New York, the Tarheels stole the show at the NBA Draft as four players from the title squad were selected in the lottery, in the first 14 picks of the draft. It was the first time any school had four players picked in the lottery. The last team to have four players selected in the first round was Duke in 1999.\nEven with all the Carolina blue going early, they still didn't claim the first pick in the Draft -- that honor went to Andrew Bogut of Utah.\nThe Milwaukee Bucks made Bogut, the national player of the year, the highest Australian ever picked in the Draft.\nBefore the Draft experts considered the No. 1 pick a two-horse race between Bogut and former Carolina forward Marvin Willliams.\nOne of the deciding factors was who could turn the Bucks into a playoff team more quickly, said Larry Harris, Milwaukee's general manager.\n"The biggest difference was who could make the biggest difference for us right away," Harris said during the broadcasting of the Draft. "We now feel solid at the center position."\nWilliams then went No. 2 to the Atlanta Hawks. Williams, who spent his only season at Carolina, saw his stock rise throughout the NCAA Tournament and afterwards because of his physical ability and potential down the road. Atlanta had the worst record in the NBA last season.\nEven with all the glitz of going as the second overall pick in the draft, Willliams was humbled after the pick.\n"It's a great honor to get picked, and I wish the best for all the guys," Williams said. "There are some guys at my position who are good, but I wasn't surprised. I was excited to be drafted at No. 2."\nAfter two big men being selected, point guards became the points of emphasis as Deron Williams of Illinois, Wake Forest's Chris Paul and Raymond Felton from the Tarheels were picked Nos. 3-5 by Utah, New Orleans and Charlotte, respectively.\nUtah moved up to get Williams by trading the Nos. 6 and 27 picks and a 2006 first-round pick to Portland for the No. 3 spot.\nAt No. 6 the Trailblazers snagged high school phenomenon Martell Webster from Seattle. This draft marks the end of high school players entering the draft as the new collective bargaining agreement forces players to wait at least one year after their high school class graduates before entering.\nJoining Webster in the first round straight out of high school was center Andrew Bynum at No. 10 to the Los Angeles Lakers and Gerald Green -- a potential lottery pick going into the draft -- who fell to Boston at No. 18.\nIn past years, foreign players had been much of the talk going into the draft, but this year the first from a non-U.S. college or high school was Fran Vazquez from Spain at No. 11 to Orlando.\nSean May and Rashad McCants rounded out the lottery and Carolina's dominance in the Draft at Nos. 13 and 14 to Charlotte and Minnesota, respectively.\nMay, a former Bloomington High School North standout, knew there was a possibility of going to Charlotte and staying in North Carolina, but said he was even more delighted he gets to continue his professional career with one of his running mates in Felton.\n"The whole time as the draft started to play out, as soon as Charlie (Villanueva) went seventh (to the Toronto Raptors), my eyes were sold on Charlotte at 13," said May after being drafted.\n"I'm very thankful to play for an organization like the Bobcats and I didn't think when they took Raymond (Felton) with the fifth pick that they would take two Carolina guys but I'm extremely elated at the opportunity I have ahead of me."\nAlthough the Pacers didn't pick until No. 17 in the draft they still got an impact player in former New Mexico forward Danny Granger. Granger, who on many Web sites was projected to go in the lottery, fell out of the lottery and into the Pacers' lap.\n"Granger can come in tomorrow and play," said team President Larry Bird on the Pacers' Web site. "He's very talented. I never dreamed he'd be there. ... I still can't believe it. I think he's that good of a player."\nAlthough he didn't land as high as many projected, he is glad that he is playing for team that is ready to compete for the NBA title, he said.\n"(There's) definitely no disappointment," Granger said. "Indiana's a playoff team. Sometimes it's better going lower. Going to a better team where you have time to learn is better than going to a losing team."\nWhile the first round was filled with mostly college stars, many picks in the second round went more of the foreign or high school player route. Among the 30 picks in the second round, 16 were non-college players, including six from high school. Included in the second round is former IU guard Bracey Wright, who was chosen at No. 47 to Minnesota.\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.