David Noel, NBA or NFL?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CHAPEL HILL -- Most people's legs would have been shaking.

At ease at the microphone in front of close friends and a few hundred strangers alike, David Noel didn't have that problem Tuesday night.

Instead, his legs were burning.

As Noel addressed the gathering at the end-of-season awards ceremony for the North Carolina men's basketball team at the Smith Center, he said he felt the effects of his workout earlier in the day. Noel's days as a UNC player are over, but his days of sweating on the court are far from it.

"I've been working out, just getting general strength back from taking days off," said Noel, a former Southern High star who was named UNC's Most Valuable Player for the 2005-06 season Tuesday night. "I'm trying to get my wind back and trying to make sure I'm prepared for the NBA scouts."

As UNC took time to look back and celebrate the season with awards and a highlight presentation on the arena's video boards, Noel turned his attention to the future. And not just his own.

During his speech -- a UNC tradition for seniors at the ceremony since 1970 -- he encouraged UNC's returning players to hang another NCAA championship banner in the Smith Center.

"The guys coming back next year, like I told them, they have a special opportunity," Noel said afterward. "They're definitely going to be a team to be reckoned with next season. They'll probably be preseason No. 1 or No. 2 or something like that, and they can definitely make a run for another national championship."

The Tar Heels, who return seven of their top nine players from the 2005-06 team and will welcome one of the nation's top recruiting classes, are going to hear about that plenty from fans and reporters next season. But can they handle the pressure of hearing it also from Noel, who was part of the 2005 NCAA championship team?

"They're going to have to," said Noel, who averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while leading UNC to a 23-8 record and a second-place finish in the ACC. "As long as I've got a ring, I can come back and talk junk. But as soon as they get one, they can talk junk, too.

"It's all in fun, but we're serious about winning around here. It's definitely a lot of pressure on them, but at the same time, they're capable of doing it."

Noel faces his own big challenge.

As of now, his name is absent from everyone's mock draft. His goal is to be an NBA player, and he took a step in pursuit of that dream last week by playing in the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament. The tournament -- a 54-year-old event that features 64 college seniors divided into eight teams -- drew attention from more than 200 NBA scouts and representatives.

Noel's team finished the event 0-2, but he averaged 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

"It was just a chance to go out in front of NBA scouts and play ball and just have fun and try to show them the things you can do so that you can be invited to an NBA camp or the NBA Draft or something like that," Noel said. "It was fun."

Noel faced some familiar foes in his team's second game. His squad took on a team that featured Cameron Bennerman of N.C. State and Sean Dockery of Duke. Bennerman scored 19 points, and Dockery added 16 points as they led their team to an overtime victory.

"It was actually fun playing against those guys," Noel said. "There was a whole rivalry thing we had going, but it was all in fun."

Noel, who also starred in football as a wide receiver at Southern, attracted attention from more than NBA scouts at the event. Although he has made it clear that he wants to pursue a basketball career, representatives from a couple of NFL teams approached him. Noel said he has heard from about five NFL teams -- the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers among them -- who would like to give him a look as a tight end or wide receiver. </div>

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