Ty Lawson, or rather “Dennis The Menace,” as Roy Williams often called him, grew up during his three seasons at North Carolina.

Lawson’s personal maturity and his basketball game locked arms and went from talented kid to dominating young man. He was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2009 over his better known teammate Tyler Hansbrough, and recorded an NCAA-record eight steals in the national championship game – seven in the first half – when the Tar Heels clobbered Michigan State to take home to title.

It was a crowning moment for Lawson and a bunch of Heels who endured an embarrassing exit to the 2008 Final Four, a game they lost by 18 points to Kansas after opening with a 40-12 deficit. Lawson and his teammates refused to forget how that felt, and it fueled them for the next 12 months.

“Last year, it was just tough,” Lawson said the day before the 209 championship game. “I mean, because of how we lost. But we fought back, so I think that was good for us, the way we fought back and showed real heart. That's what's driven us the whole summer.

“That's why I put up shots and late nights and things like that, to get back to this spot because I want things like that to happen again. All of us have worked so hard all season to get back to the position we're in right now.”

Lawson averaged 16.6 points and 6.6 assists per game that season, shooting 56.8 percent from the field, including 40.3 percent from 3-point range. In addition to winning the ACC’s top honor, he was a consensus All-American, the South Regional MOP in 2009 and won the Bob Cousy Award that season, which goes out to the top point guard in the nation.

In addition to the consecutive Final Fours, Lawson helped lead the Tar Heels to the Elite Eight in his freshman season in 2007. Carolina won two ACC Tournaments during his run as well as the regular season ACC title in each of Lawson’s three seasons.

Lawson did not play in the 2009 ACC Tournament, so UNC was 6-0 in ACCT games he played in during his Carolina career. UNC was also 40-8 in ACC regular season games with Lawson.

For his UNC career, Lawson, a native of Clinton, MD, which is a suburb of Washington, DC, scored 1,375 points, handed out 608 assists, grabbed 303 rebounds, registered 184 steals and the Tar Heels were 101-14 overall and 38-10 (regular season) in his three seasons. Their combined postseason record in that stretch was 21-3.

Williams summed up Lawson’s UNC career quite succinctly.

“He was a phenomenal, phenomenal force for us,” the coach said. “I have never had anybody that could do everything that he could do at the point guard spot.”

A native of Clinton, MD, Lawson played eight seasons in the NBA averaging 12.7 points and 6 assists per contest before playing this past season in China, though he concluded the campaign back in the NBA. In a four-year stretch, Lawson averaged between 15.2 and 17.6 points per contest with the Denver Nuggets.

In 2011, Lawson became the first player in NBA history to convert his first 10 attempts from 3-point range in a game. He averaged 21.3 points and 8 assists during the 2013 NBA playoffs. In 2014, Lawson led the Denver Nuggets with 17.6 points, 8.8 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.

He is currently playing professionally in China.