The Charlotte Hornets released their 2021 Summer League roster Monday afternoon, and Tar Heel fans will notice a familiar name… if not a familiar school.

Former UNC star Kenny Williams made the Hornets’ squad for the NBA Summer League, despite the team’s social media mistakenly naming Louisville as his alma mater. The Hornets quickly acknowledged the error.

Should Williams make the Hornets’ regular season roster, he would be the 14th Carolina alumnus currently in the NBA, joining Day’Ron Sharpe, who was recently drafted by the Brooklyn Nets, as the two newest members of the exclusive fraternity.

Williams featured for the Austin Spurs, the NBA G-League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs, for the past two seasons.

While in Chapel Hill, Williams played four years under Roy Williams, winning a national championship in 2017 and shooting a career-high 40.2% on 3-pointers during his junior season.

Appearing in the NBA would mark another high point in Williams’ career, which nearly began at Virginia Commonwealth University. After VCU coach Shaka Smart departed for Texas, Williams re-opened his recruitment and committed to Carolina just 3 months before enrolling at the school.

It’s been a busy past few weeks for Carolina alumni in the NBA, as Justin Jackson recently became an NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks and Sharpe became the 54th Tar Heel to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Elsewhere, former Carolina standouts Reggie Bullock and Wayne Ellington signed new contracts with the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively.

 

Photo via AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek.


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