11:45 a.m. UPDATE: Davis' dad says Davis hasn't made an NBA decision, and injury has set him back
North Carolina forward Ed Davis' biography was on a sports agency's Web site Thursday morning, but agent Vincent Porter said the sophomore has not signed, or verbally committed, to his agency -- even though Porter has had contact with the family.
"I don't even know if he's going to go pro ... this injury has opened up all possibilities,'' Porter said in a phone interview.
Porter said he believes someone hacked his site, ptasportsmanagement.com, and added information that looked as if it had been cut-and-pasted from the UNC's media guide -- such as where Davis played in high school, his high school statistics and his family information. Davis' picture had not been added to the site, and the information looked different from what was listed for other clients.
All of Davis' information had been taken off the site by 10:10 a.m.
Davis' father, Terry, said his son "hasn't committed to nobody verbally or in writing ... and as far as the Web site, we don't know what's going on." Agents, he said, have been trying to contact family members since last year, when Ed was considered a first-round pick, "but I've been trying to avoid them as much as possible."
He said that Ed Davis, who broke his wrist earlier this month and is likely sidelined for the rest of the season, remains focused on Carolina basketball, and hasn't made any decisions about when to turn pro.
"We feel like with the injury, that's something that has set him back as far as any plans to go to the NBA. ... With him not being able to shoot, it's a 6-to-8 week thing [as far as healing], there's no telling if he would be able to work out or anything [for NBA teams] this summer. ... We're just going to wait and see how it goes, but right now, we're not even talking about the NBA."
Terry Davis said his son is frustrated and saddened about his injury, especially because he feels like he could help the struggling Tar Heels right now. But despite the injury and UNC's disappointing season, his son has no regrets about returning for his sophomore year: "He loves Chapel Hill, he loves his girlfriend there, he loves his teammates, he coaches. He really loves playing in college."
Porter, the agent, said: "We have no commitment, nothing verbally or written from Ed Davis."
He did say, though, that he has had contact with the Davis family; Davis' father, Terry, is a former NBA player. Asked who contacted who, Porter said he and the family had a mutual friend in Richmond, Va., and "initially, they would have contacted me through that friend."
Asked when the contact was made, Porter would offer no more details.
Davis, who is considered a first-round draft pick, broke his left wrist earlier this month and is likely sidelined for the rest of the season.
Informed that Davis' bio was on the site this morning, a UNC spokesman said the school was looking into it. Davis has not been available to the media since his injury.
NCAA bylaws state that "an individual shall be ineligible for participation in an intercollegiate sport if he or she ever has agreed (orally or in writing) to be represented by an agent for the purpose of marketing his or her athletics abiltiy or reputation in that sport." An athlete can also become ineligible if his or her family accepts transportation or other benefits from an agent, but the bylaws do not state that there is anything wrong with an agent having contact with the family.
I know that the NBA looks a lot at "potential," but I don't think there's a single player on this UNC team that's ready to go pro. If Davis is getting knocked around down low by these college big men, what's going to happen in the NBA? And I really haven't noticed any mid-range ability to bolster his game.
Especially with the injury, I think it's a good idea for Ed to hang around one more year and develop. With Deon gone, he's going to be the big man on campus with Zeller and Henson helping out. And with quality guards coming in to supplement the big men, I believe his stock can only move up.
But, of course, when you have agents barking at you and showing you dollar signs, it's hard to resist. Not everyone has the desire for college ball that Tyler Hansbrough had.
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