Two potential North Carolina basketball recruits played at the Smith Center on Friday in the annual Tournament of Champions club-team event, and the pair certainly seemed to like what they saw.

Nolan Dennis, a 6-5, 165-pound point guard from Texas, made his first visit to the Dean Dome. The size of the building, the overwhelming Carolina blue that flows across nearly every inch and crevasse, and the banners advertising success at the highest level of college basketball, made the desired impression on this rising senior.

"I want to play somewhere like this," Dennis said, his eyes widening as he looked around the Smith Center. "All these seats, everybody coming to watch this, it's indescribable. It's just breathtaking to walk in here."

Ryan Kelly lives in nearby Raleigh. A native New Yorker (from Pawling, about an hour-and-a-half from N.Y. City), Kelly attends Raleigh's Ravenscroft private school now.

Carolina has offered Kelly a scholarship, although both players said they have not made their final decisions on a school.

"Yes, they've made me an offer," Kelly said. "They're going to continue to watch me play and watch me get better and continue to look at me."

"The offer has been made in the past few weeks," Kelly said. "I could commit, but I haven't had that gut feeling yet. I want to take my time and try to get to all these schools and find the best fit for me."

Do not take this as an assurance Dennis will one day be playing for the Tar Heels on the same floor. He has other teams on his list, and anything can happen in recruiting.

Dennis listed Memphis, North Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Texas A&M and UCLA. He has scholarship offers from each of those schools, and doesn't claim any leaders at this point in time.

"I'm pretty much wide open right now," he said. "I'm just going to see what other players do, if they go to the NBA, and just kind of weigh my options."

Dennis is listed at 6 foot 5, 165 pounds. He's long, which means lengthy arms that allow him to play bigger than his feet-to-head height.

On Friday, he showed a few flashes of what he can do. Unfortunately, he also stood around a lot.

His length enables him to guard taller players, but he did not work hard enough to display his defensive skills or quickness on that end. He did have a burst or two toward the bucket that provided a glimpse of his athleticism.

"One of my main things is being versatile," Dennis said.

He showed an ability and willingness to pass the ball, but he if kept it his hands more and took charge of the offense, the team would be better and he could showcase his leadership more.

He did talk on defense and try to direct his teammate to the right spots.

Kelly is an interesting prospect in that, during the opening minutes of the game, one could not help but wonder "why." Why did Williams offer this thin kid a scholarship?

As Kelly became comfortable, his potential began to show. He can put the ball on the floor and drive. It's a skill one can see him developing. He made a follow-up dunk or two in which he had to come flying in after that snap period between bounce off the rim and dunk.

He did not shy away on defense, even though he is not as strong as many opponents. He blocked some shots, using his long arms. As with Dennis, Kelly plays larger than he is, because of his reach.

He does need to work on the strength of his hands and on always being ready for the ball. His overall strength must improve immensely, too.

"That is part of my maturity as well," Kelly said. "I was 17 in April. I'm pretty young for my grade. I lift three times a week. I just want to continue to get better, stronger. I'm always going to be a lanky guy, but I've got to get as strong as possible."

There is one other facet to Kelly. When he says academics matter, he's not lying.

"My list right now is, in no particular order -- I don't have an order at all -- is Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Stanford, Georgetown, N.C. State and Davidson," he said. "I'm just trying to find the best fit, and part of that for me is academics. I feel like I'm a pretty good student. I have a 4.2 GPA. So that's important to me, and all these schools are great academic schools.

"But I also feel I can play anywhere, and I'm going to work hard to play anywhere."

Kelly got a dose of what inside play will be like when he played pick-up basketball with the UNC team and Tyler Hansbrough.

"He's a hoss," Kelley said. "He's huge. ... You can see the different level of competition, how hard they are playing, the effort put out every play. That is something every high-school basketball player needs to work on."

Kelly's parents were college athletes (dad basketball, mom volleyball). They want him to choose his school and have his own experience, he said.

"I haven't really thought of a time table," he said of picking a school. "I just want to find the best fit. Whenever that time is, I really don't know."

Dennis said that he hopes to walk around the UNC campus this weekend, providing his basketball schedule permits.

"I just want to see people having fun, loving basketball," Dennis said. "The tradition is here. Michael Jordan went here. There has to be something here. That's what I want to see."