I can’t quite divorce myself from basketball season yet, basically because I can’t marry my mind to spring football … although yesterday the team was out of the rain in the indoor practice facility while the kickers were stuck out in the elements. That got me fired up!

Anyhow, I feel a little slighted we have to go eight months until Mr. Ebanks plays again. And I have no doubt he’ll be back next year. I feel silly even discussing it. But I can’t wait. It was too fun to watch him play and grow this year.

When you think about how much he improved within the season, if you saw him flat-out furious Friday afternoon and firing stuff into his bag, if you heard him vow to be back in the dance next year “and it won’t be the same outcome,” if you see him pulling an Alexander and living in the Coliseum, you figure this can be a double-double guy next season.  

Da’Sean Butler must be rolling around on the floor laughing about how teams will have to guard him on the perimeter now.

Ebanks perfectly managed expectations and, for what it’s worth, says his game is nowhere near ready for the NBA. It seems to me, and to many others, he gets the big picture, but that he also grasps the, um, little picture and really wants to win a national title. He openly talks about it as “the goal.”

If you care about the goal, you’ll be happy to read the thought of DraftExpress, a site for which I’ve not hidden my fondness.

All in all, Ebanks still has a long ways to go before being able to legitimately consider entering the draft, but he shows quite a bit of potential as long as he continues to develop. He’ll need to improve his shooting and ball-handling skills to project as a full-time small forward, but already some things he can hang his hat on in regards to his defense, rebounding and passing ability. It will be very interesting to see how he looks next season.

This was written before the NCAA game. DX said it won’t update the Ebanks section. Nothing he did changed their opinion one way or the other. He’s projected as the No. 11 pick in the 2010 draft. I haven’t seen him listed in one ’09 mock. Rejoice.