UNC Basketball: Will three Tar Heels be selected in top 25 of NBA Draft?

Sports Illustrated thinks the UNC basketball program will place three players in the top 25 of the 2019 NBA Draft

With the 2019 NBA Draft just two weeks away, Sports Illustrated has released an updated list of its top 100 prospects. Among them are three North Carolina Tar Heels, which the publication believes will all be selected within the first 25 picks of the draft.

North Carolina point guard Coby White had a terrific freshman season in Chapel Hill, and backed it up with solid workouts and interviews over the past couple months. He’s a near-consensus top 5 or 6 pick at this point, with many believing that he’ll be the second point guard taken in the draft after Murray State super sophomore and All-American Ja Morant.

And that’s precisely what Sports Illustrated thinks, as they project White as the No. 5 pick in the draft, one spot ahead of Vanderbilt freshman Darius Garland. That would send the former Tar Heel to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team needing several key pieces, but maybe none more than a gifted point guard of White’s caliber.

UNC freshman wing Nassir Little is SI’s final projected lottery pick at No. 14 to the Boston Celtics, an organization looking to make a big splash during NBA free agency this summer. Despite the perceived underwhelming season that he had for the Tar Heels, NBA scouts and general managers remain enamored with Little’s size, length and athleticism. He’s also shown off an improved offensive game over the spring months, highlighted by a significantly more effective jump shot.

And although Tar Heels sharpshooter Cameron Johnson is one of the oldest projected draft picks this year, Sports Illustrated — and a number of other publications — are finally buying into his ability and potential as an NBA wing. SI has Johnson going 25th in the draft to the Portland Trailblazers.

Johnson averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and shot better than 50 percent from the floor as a senior. He also converted nearly 48 percent of his 3-point attempts, and 82 percent of his free throws. His ability to shoot the ball from long-range will be a valuable asset for any professional team, and he could help spread the floor out more for Portland’s sensational back court of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

Stick with Keeping It Heel in the weeks leading up to the 2019 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.