Lawson has questions to answer about his maturity

Blue-light specials and other notes:

Coach Roy Williams calls Ty Lawson "Dennis the Menace," and now everyone knows why the nickname fits perfectly -- except for one thing.

"Dennis the Menace" was too young to drive.

Lawson was merely too young to drink and then drive. When stopped last Friday morning -- or whatever you call 2:33 a.m. in a college city -- Lawson submitted to a test that revealed a small amount of alcohol in his system, well below the legal limit. Because Lawson, 20, is below the age limit for drinkers to operate cars, he got a ticket. He was also charged with violating the Chapel Hill noise ordinance and driving with a revoked license. Lawson was convicted twice last year for driving 15 mph over the speed limit.

And scouts said he needed to work on his jumper.

The recent charges aren't serious enough to horrify folks running a pro sports team, but they could intensify questions about Lawson's maturity and thus lower his value in some places. Lawson missed his first scheduled workout with the Denver Nuggets but showed up two days later, on Tuesday.

Coach George Karl, a former North Carolina point guard who attended one or two parties in his day, gave Lawson passing grades after his basketball session. Karl told the Rocky Mountain News: "There's always concern when red lights go on, but I think we've got to continue the process. We were not going to throw him out because of that right now."

Karl's eventual decision could have a serious impact on Lawson's draft slot. The Nuggets seem desperate for a point guard -- Kansas' Mario Chalmers worked out, on schedule -- and could fulfill Lawson's draft goal of making the top 20 on the nose. But if Denver decides to take a pass on Lawson, he could drop several spots or even outside the first round.

Because there's a telephone line wrapped around the Denver-Chapel Hill grapevine, Lawson should know how he stands before having to declare his official draft intentions next Monday. Quite typically, Lawson took responsibility for his actions and then shrugged off his legal problem while talking to the Denver paper.

"I'm not a troublemaker who gets in trouble all the time," he said. "It's not like I was driving around just hammered, drunk. I was below the legal limit, so I don't think it should have any effect."

Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, who will all work out for their final teams today, could return to school if they drop out of the draft pool. Ellington has generated few public reactions from pro teams and remains on the far side of the first-round bubble in most mock drafts. Injuries slowed Green but evidently didn't suppress his hunger for an immediate pro career.

Lawson wants to turn pro under the right conditions, but the pros might question his durability after he missed part of last season with an ankle injury and twice strained an ankle during tryouts.

Freshman J.J. Hickson, often projected as a late first-rounder heading to Detroit or Boston, presumably will not head back to N.C. State. He told the Phoenix Suns' web site: "I'm definitely in the draft."

Ready for some football

The football magazines are rolling off the presses. Athlon ranks Wake Forest 24th. A web site, rivals.com, had the Deacons 25th on its preliminary list. The emerging ACC consensus: Clemson around No. 10, with Virginia Tech in the teens. Wake Forest ranks second in the Atlantic Division, with key early tests at division contenders Florida State and Clemson….

Forsyth Country Club heads into its first summer since architect Kris Spence renovated the course that Donald Ross designed in 1922. The project added 270 yards, but head pro John Faidley attributes the extra distance almost exclusively to the black championship tees. Fully extended, Forsyth covers 6,784 yards and plays to par 71. Spence relied on aerial photos and old pictures. "He brought back a lot of the Donald Ross characteristics that the golf course had lost," Faidley said….

Another Ross course that Spence massaged, Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, will undergo a strong early test when the PGA Tour arrives for the Wyndham Championship in August. The big question: Will the pros slaughter par 70 on the 7,154-yard classic? It's hard to make marble greens the first line of defense in summer heat without killing some grass. Mark Brazil, the tournament director, has played practice rounds with touring pros who offered advice. "Probably the best thing we can do in August is grow the rough," Brazil reported….

Some Chicago Bulls fans are aghast because a coaching chase that began with Mike D'Antoni (who picked the Knicks' money) wound up with Vinny Del Negro in the head chair. The rap: Del Negro has never coached a game anywhere. General Manager John Paxson said he just had a feeling. If Del Negro has enough of those Jim Valvano feelings left over from N.C. State, this just might work out. Doc Rivers heard the same murmurs in Orlando. He was voted coach of the year as a rookie and now leads the Celtics in the finals.

■ Lenox Rawlings can be reached at lrawlings@wsjournal.com.