GREENSBORO — Jason Capel took the opportunity to dabble in the professions of Mel Kiper Jr. and Miss Cleo on Sunday.

Capel, North Carolina’s senior forward, made a few predictions and projections concerning the basketball futures of Julius Peppers and Ronald Curry, and what Capel has to say should please UNC fans.

Capel thinks Peppers will suit up for the Tar Heel hoops team even though he is slated to go high in the NFL Draft.

“I think he’s going to play, Iknow how he is,” Capel said. “He’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. If you think about it, he’s not going to fall any lower than No. 3. I know he loves to play basketball, and I know how much he loves the attention. People don’t get to see his face, don’t get to see that smile with the helmet on.

“He puts that (basketball) jersey on, everybody in America will see him, and that’s what he’s all about. I think he really wants to play basketball.”

Bios of both Curry and Peppers are included in a preliminary edition of the UNC basketball media guide, which was made available at Sunday’s media gathering.

Curry is listed as the returning starter at point guard.

“I think Ronald’s definitely going to play,” Capel said.

N.C. State coach Herb Sendek has received more late night phone calls than he would like to remember over the last couple of years.

This fall, the phone has continued to ring, but the news has been to Sendek’s liking.

Sendek says his latest Wolfpack team can’t seem to stay out of the gym after hours, which has made the jobs of security guards at Reynolds Coliseum a lot tougher.

“Somebody wants to close down Reynolds, and Scooter Sherrill is in there after a women’s basketball camp has closed up,” Sendek said.

Duke point guard Jason Williams is on track to graduate this summer and plans to forgo his final year of eligibility, a plan Coach Mike Krzyzewski has known about from its onset.

Krzyzewski has witnessed more of his players leave early for the NBA in recent years, and he wants to take a more active approach in helping his budding stars plan for the future.

“Everybody’s on the same page, and at the end of the year we don’t have a press conference to say somebody’s gone,” Krzyzewski said. “I want to be a part of that process from Day 1.”

Krzyzewski helped Elton Brand through his decision to turn pro early, but similar moves by William Avery and Corey Maggette caught Krzyzewski by surprise.

“I didn’t talk with Corey Maggette about it because he was a freshman, and he didn’t start for us,” Krzyzewski said.

Wake Forest senior guard Craig Dawson has adjusted pretty well to Coach Skip Prosser’s new system.

Dawson made his first 11 shots — including nine
3-pointers — to score 43 points in the annual Black and Gold scrimmage on Saturday.

Dawson finished the game 16-of-21 from the floor and 11-of-14 from 3-point range, and the Gold won 92-56.

Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com .