North Carolina hadn’t seen a player drafted to the NBA since Day’Ron Sharpe in 2021 heading into this week. On Wednesday night, Harrison Ingram refreshed that drought after being selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 48 pick. Cormac Ryan and Armando Bacot were also picked up post-draft, and they will fight for a contract as the summer progresses.
This weaker spell of young Tar Heels in the NBA may be coming to a close, as early 2025 NBA Draft projections are already tabbing some of this years squad comfortably into next years field. ESPN, CBS Sports, and Yahoo have weighed in their respective thoughts regarding some of North Carolina’s best, and we think Tar Heel fans will be happy with where certain players landed.
Ian Jackson, the five-star freshman from New York, is one of the more projectable prospects to come through Chapel Hill in quite some time. These analysts and sites seem to agree. Yahoo is the only mock draft that projects Jackson in the lottery, going at No. 9. ESPN and CBS Sports forecast a later first round selection for the 19-year-old, coming in at No. 25 and No. 28, respectively. Not too shabby for a prospect who’s never seeing the collegiate hardwood, and it speaks to how impactful Jackson can be for the Tar Heels in 2024-25.
Elliot Cadeau comes up next, receiving praise from CBS Sports and ESPN as another comfortable potential draftee. CBS Sports (only mocked one round) categorizes the sophomore guard as a ‘Round 1 Candidate.’ ESPN has the 19-year-old as the projected No. 47 draft selection, landing in the middle of the second round. The storyline to watch this season for Cadeau is the development of the perimeter shooting. He displays next-level vision and above average finishing around the rim, but he just shot 18.9% from deep in his freshman year.
The last Tar Heel to bring in some recognition is Cade Tyson. The Belmont transfer is a lengthy sharpshooter that had significant success in the Missouri Valley Conference with the Bruins. Yahoo has Tyson drafted at pick No. 22, sneaking his way into the first round. ESPN and CBS Sports do not include Tyson in their projections. North Carolina is still awaiting to see its first of the junior transfer as well, but a top-25 projection portrays reason to be excited about the Monroe, NC native.
It goes without saying that mock drafts posted nearly a full calendar year in advance hold little true value. Hence why there is so much disparity across the three sites. That said, Chapel Hill is expected to be filled with NBA-level talent in 2024, and that hasn’t always been the case recently. The last time North Carolina saw three players selected in the same draft was 2019 (Coby White, Cameron Johnson, Nassir Little). Elite company could be on the way.