Raise your hand if you thought Coby White would be UNC’s highest drafted player when the season began. Now put them down, you liars.
The NBA Draft order is finalized and it appears that we know who the first three picks will be. If everything goes as expected, Zion Williamson is heading to New Orleans, Ja Morant will get drafted by Memphis and RJ Barrett is heading to New York.
After those three however, the order varies.
One of the fastest-rising NBA prospects this cycle has been North Carolina freshman Coby White. He was a borderline five-star recruit coming out of high school, but started every game except one for UNC this season and emerged as a dynamic scorer.
White averaged 16.1 points per game last season for the Tar Heels and broke Michael Jordan’s freshman scoring record in Chapel Hill.
According to many mock drafts, White could also be playing his professional ball in the city that Jordan won six titles in.
The Chicago Bulls hold the seventh pick in the NBA Draft and White seems to be a popular target for them in mock drafts. The Bulls have a fairly young roster with players like Zach LaVine and Wendell Carter, so White would give them another building block.
Of course, many things could happen between now and the NBA Draft. The players listed above White in some mock drafts include De’Andre Hunter, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland and Cameron Reddish. White’s firmly in the second group behind the Big 3, so there’s an outside chance he could sneak into the Top 5 when all is said and done.
The projections for other UNC players are more widespread.
Nassir Little was always expected to be a one-and-done player, but a limited role at UNC hurt his draft stock. Current projections have him as high as a Top-10 pick or falling into the 20’s.
Finally, Cam Johnson put together a First Team All-ACC performance as a senior that caused NBA teams to take notice as the season progressed. Mock drafts have him anywhere from No. 20 to Boston to 27 to Brooklyn.
If everything goes as expected, White could become Carolina’s first Top-10 pick in the NBA Draft since Harrison Barnes in 2012. And with five-star guard Cole Anthony set to play for UNC next season, there’s a good chance the Tar Heels could have back-to-back Top-10 picks in the 2019 and 2020 NBA Drafts.
That’s a pretty good pitch on the recruiting trail for Roy Williams.
Oh, and the six national titles helps too, I guess.
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