College athletics isn't what it used to be.
When student-athletes couldn't legally earn profit while competing at the college ranks, the mindset of "if you're a first-round talent, you enter the draft" was at the forefront of decision making. The longer you hung around your college campus, the more likely it was that your stock would ultimately fall.
Well, now that student-athletes can earn income off their Name, Image & Likeness (NIL), it makes the decision that much tougher.
Drake Powell was one of the most interesting cases in this year's draft class. With a boatload of potential at his disposal, Powell elected to leave the UNC basketball program after one season to enter the 2025 NBA Draft.
Was that the right decision? Time will only tell.
However, ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony makes it seem like this was a bad decision on Powell's part, considering he doesn't believe he's ready to play at the NBA level.
While speaking to ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks during a meeting with the online press, Givony mentioned how teams like him for his long-term potential.
“Everybody likes the long-term potential, the defense and the length and the intangibles. By all accounts, he’s a very high-character young man.”
Givony went on to say that although he has a high ceiling, don't expect him to be an immediate impact player at the NBA level any time soon.
“He’s probably not ready to play an NBA game anytime soon, especially on the offensive end. He wasn’t ready to be an impactful player, even at the college level, at times this year for North Carolina.”
Fans of the UNC basketball program have seen this narrative quite often at this point. Harrison Ingram is the perfect example just a year ago: a guy who could've came back to college, made a good amount of money in the NIL world why being a star for the UNC basketball program.
Unfortunately, Ingram spent essentially his entire rookie season in the G League, as his potential ability to make an NBA roster gets dimmer by the day.
If Powell follows the same path, UNC basketball fans will not be happy, especially considering how much of an impact he could've made on the 2025-2026 Tar Heels squad. Powell would've easily been the team's starting wing, helping bolster a unit that features a lot more size and skill than last year's roster possessed.
With this team, Powell wouldn't have to play out of position, something we saw quite often during his freshman season.
At this point, all we can do is wait and see how it plays out. Hopefully, an organization proves that Powell made the right choice, selecting him with the intent of him being an impact player for their NBA squad right out of the gate.