
Former UNC standout Day’Ron Sharpe is officially headed to the NBA, as the Phoenix Suns drafted him on Thursday night.
The 6-foot-11 Greenville, N.C. native was taken 29th overall, the second-to-last pick in the first round, after a strong year off the bench for the Tar Heels in the 2020-21 season.
As part of a trade agreed upon in principle earlier in the night, the Suns agreed to trade the 29th overall pick, as well as guard Jevon Carter, to the Brooklyn Nets. While the trade will not be made official until the start of the new NBA year, it mean Sharpe will very likely end up in Brooklyn instead of Phoenix.
With Sharpe’s selection, 54 former UNC players have now been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. With Kentucky’s Isiah Jackson taken with pick #22 in earlier in the evening, the Tar Heels still trail the Wildcats by one for the highest number of first-round selections for players.
Sharpe becomes the 118th former Tar Heel to be drafted into the NBA. It places UNC third in all-time players taken in the draft, as they trail Kentucky and UCLA.
A former five-star recruit, Sharpe averaged 9.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, largely coming off the bench during his lone season in Chapel Hill. He led the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and garnered the second-most votes for the ACC Rookie of the Year award. Sharpe announced his plans to turn professional in March, shortly after the Tar Heels’ ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The first-round selection of Sharpe marks the final draft pick of former UNC head coach Roy Williams, who retired from leading the program in April. Between his time coaching the Kansas Jayhawks and the Tar Heels, Williams saw 32 former players taken in the first round of the NBA Draft. That mark puts him third all-time behind Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Kentucky head coach John Calipari, according to ESPN’s Bryan Ives.
Williams attended Thursday night’s draft party hosted by Sharpe and his family, as reported by C.L. Brown of the News & Observer.
The estimated first-round contract for the 29th pick in the first round of the NBA Draft is projected to be approximately $10.3 million, which is guaranteed, according to ESPN front office expert Bobby Marks.
Photo via ACC Media/Maggie Boulton.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Related Stories
‹

Brooklyn Nets Sign Theo Pinson to Two-Way ContractDespite going undrafted this past June, it appears former UNC fan favorite Theo Pinson may, indeed, get a shot at the NBA this season anyway. It was reported Wednesday by Michael Scotto of The Athletic that Pinson received a two-way contract from the Brooklyn Nets–which will allow him to spend most of the season with […]

Brooklyn Nets Sign Theo PinsonThe Brooklyn Nets announced Monday that they have signed former UNC guard Theo Pinson, who went undrafted following a stellar senior campaign in Chapel Hill. Terms of the deal were not released. Pinson played with the Nets during the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League last month, seeing time in all five of the team’s games […]

NBA Summer League Update: Jackson and Bradley Stay Hot, Tokoto Gets Chance With Defending NBA ChampsSunday’s NBA Summer League action in Las Vegas saw a pair of former first round picks from UNC–Justin Jackson and Tony Bradley–continue to shine, while JP Tokoto earned himself some valuable minutes for the Golden State Warriors. Jackson dropped a team-high 28 points for the Sacramento Kings in an 88-78 loss to the Los Angeles […]

NBA Free Agency: Brooklyn Nets Ink Ed Davis to One Year, $4.4 Million ContractNBA free agency officially kicked off at 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning, with a large number of deals announced not long after. One former Tar Heel who is already on the move is 6-foot-10 forward Ed Davis, who left the Portland Trailblazers to sign a one year deal with the Brooklyn Nets worth $4.4 million. Davis […]

Joel Berry, Theo Pinson Sign NBA Contracts as Undrafted Free AgentsA grand total of 60 names were called at Thursday night’s NBA Draft in New York City, but none of them happened to be UNC seniors Theo Pinson or Joel Berry–who ultimately went undrafted. Their dreams of playing professional basketball in the league, however, remained alive as each player agreed to a free agent contract […]
![]()
Brooklyn Nets Sign Tyler Zeller to Two-Year ContractFormer UNC standout forward Tyler Zeller agreed Monday to a two-year contract with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, a deal which will allow him to pursue his sixth season in the league. The second year of the contract is not guaranteed, according to a league source. After averaging 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game with […]
![]()
Tony Bradley Officially Signs With Utah JazzThe Utah Jazz officially came to a contract agreement with first-round draft pick Tony Bradley on Wednesday night. This makes him the newest member of a team which qualified for the second round of the NBA Playoffs last season. Bradley was selected 28th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, but his rights were soon traded […]
![]()
NBA Draft: Los Angeles Clippers Take Brice Johnson 25th OverallLob City has a new neighbor moving in. In the first round of Thursday’s NBA Draft the Los Angeles Clippers used the 25th overall pick to select former UNC forward Brice Johnson. The Clippers have been referred to as “Lob City” in recent years because of their knack for highlight alley-oops involving point guard Chris […]
![]()
NBA Draft Preview: Brice Johnson & Marcus PaigeThursday night, the NBA Draft will mark the start of a new beginning for 60 aspiring professional basketball players. While a couple of them have a strong shot to become All-Stars in the near future, many more are better suited to filling a role for their team–such is life when only 15 players can be […]

UNC Standout Day'Ron Sharpe Taken 29th in NBA DraftFormer UNC standout Day’Ron Sharpe is officially headed to the NBA, as the Phoenix Suns drafted him on Thursday night. The 6-foot-11 Greenville, N.C. native was taken 29th overall, the second-to-last pick in the first round, after a strong year off the bench for the Tar Heels in the 2020-21 season. As part of a […]
›
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines