UNC Basketball: The eruption of Coby White and his NBA draft stock

In the finale of our three-part series looking at UNC’s top NBA Draft prospects, we look at the emergence and meteoric rise of freshman combo guard Coby White. How does he fare among the media’s many mock drafts and draft boards?

The run is over. For the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels, Friday’s blowout loss to the No. 5 Auburn Tigers signaled both the end of a promising season for such a talented UNC squad, but also the end of several collegiate careers.

For upperclassmen Luke Maye, Kenny Williams and Cameron Johnson, graduation awaits, with the elder statesmen having no choice but to depart the program that they called home for the last few years. For freshmen Nassir Little and Coby White, they’re left with a difficult decision to make — stay for another season under Roy Williams with the hope of reaching collegiate glory, or declare for the NBA Draft and kick start what looks to be promising professional careers. Based on the buzz circling the team, it seems like both freshmen are bound for the draft waters, with their collegiate careers lasting only a single season.

This brings us to part three of our draft stock series. In part one, we covered fifth-year sharpshooter Cam Johnson, whose emergence as a high-major star and elite perimeter threat has him shooting upward on draft boards throughout the country. Last week, we covered enigmatic freshman forward Nassir Little, whose play throughout most of the season left much to be desired (but whose dominant paint-scoring should have him trending in the right direction). Just days after the Tar Heels’ Sweet 16 loss to Auburn, Little announced his intent to enter the NBA Draft and forego his three remaining years of college eligibility.

This week we’ll be looking at fiery freshman point guard Coby White, whose emergence as the team’s second-best scorer has taken some onlookers by surprise. His 5-star ranking entering UNC was respected and lauded accordingly, but it’s fair to say that the national discussion surrounding the afro-donning freshman wasn’t one that had the words “one-and-done” or “NBA lottery pick” mentioned often.

Boy, were a lot of people wrong. Starting all 35 games that he appeared in, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 16.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 made three-pointers per game on 42.3 percent shooting from the field, 35.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 80 percent shooting from the charity stripe. As a freshman, White finished second on the team in scoring, second in three-pointers made per game, and first in assists, making his presence felt despite his youth and inexperience.

Whatever expectations White entered his first (and likely, only) collegiate season with, he’s far exceeded them, showcasing his burgeoning lead-guard skills and never-ending offensive motor. There’s plenty to like about White — his outside stroke, his improved vision as a facilitator, the speed at which he plays with, his size at the position, his positional versatility, his on and off-ball skills — which is why his name is soaring high among draft boards and mock drafts as we near the season’s end.

In what amounts to be a rather unspectacular draft class, player movement in mock drafts and draft boards is expected to be volatile and fluid. Some teams will have players much higher than others, and of course, much lower. In a draft that features limited point guard prospects, White has a chance of emerging as the draft’s best prospect, with his name firmly in the mix with the likes of Ja Morant and Darius Garland.

The following is a collection of 22 mock drafts and draft boards, with authors’ rationale included as well as our own additional analysis on White’s future in the league. Teams are attached to the “picks” in each mock draft, although those are pretty fickle.

The draft order is fluid and will be until the draft lottery, so don’t put too much stock into the teams that are connected to White within these mocks. Most of the rationales included here pertain to White’s skill level and versatility as a primary guard and secondary contributor (meaning he can slot in as a 1 or 2), so his fitting him into NBA back courts is fairly simple.

With that said, where could Coby White end up in this year’s draft?