By R.L. Bynum
Harrison Ingram was the only North Carolina player picked in this week’s NBA draft, but some way-to-early 2025 mock drafts suggest that multiple Tar Heels will hear their names at next June’s draft.
Two freshman guards, 6–5, 185-pound Ian Jackson (top photo) and 6–6, 195-pound Drake Powell, are projected as lottery picks by one media outlet. In Yahoo’s mock draft, Jackson is at No. 9, and ESPN projects Powell at No. 11.
CBS Sports projects 6–1, 180-pound sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau as the 17th pick and ESPN has him 47th. He didn’t make the projections of Yahoo! and USA Today, which only included the first round.
Junior transfer Cade Tyson, a 6–7, 205-pound forward, only made the Yahoo! projection, which has him going No. 22.
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USA Today projects Jackson at No. 15, ESPN at No. 25, and CBS has him at 28. USA Today has Powell at 18, CBS at 28, and he didn’t make the first-round projection by Yahoo!
There is consensus that Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, a 6–9, 205-pound forward, will be the No. 1 pick.
On Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs picked Ingram as the 48th overall pick in the second round, and the Utah Jazz signed fifth-year center Armando Bacot to an Exhibit 10 contract. On Friday, fifth-year guard Cormac Ryan signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder. Under Exhibit 10 contracts, a player has a one-year minimum salary contract that can be converted to a two-way deal.
Tar Heels in 2025 mock drafts
ESPN
Drake Powell No. 11
Ian Jackson No. 25
Elliot Cadeau No. 47
CBS Sports (only first round)
Elliot Cadeau No. 17
Ian Jackson No. 28
USA Today (only first round)
Ian Jackson No. 15
Drake Powell No. 18
Yahoo! (only first round)
Ian Jackson No. 9
Cade Tyson No. 22
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC one under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
