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The ACC has a very lopsided NBA draft.
Five Dukies are projected to be picked in the first two rounds of the NBA draft that begins Wednesday night.
Overall, the ACC is predicted to have five players drafted among the first 50, which is the barometer of how far the conference has fallen in the last few years.
And in ESPN’s final mock draft, the Blue Devils have three of the top eight picks, Cooper Flagg going No. 1 to Dallas, Kon Knueppel going No. 4 to the Hornets and Khaman Maluach going to Brooklyn with the eighth pick.
One other ACC player is slated to be selected in the first round, Carolina’s Drake Powell at No. 28 by the Celtics, which could explain why Powell stayed in the NBA Draft after projecting no higher than the second round on most mock boards.
Speculation has it that Powell and one NBA team made an agreement to draft him in the first round to get a guaranteed salary.
And unless speculation is wrong, Powell will earn about $5 million over his first two seasons in the league with the team that drafts him at number 28 holding the option for his third and fourth years.
If he doesn’t prove himself over those seasons, Powell will likely become a free agent with less bargaining power because the team that drafted him did not keep him longer. Here is hoping that Powell goes in the first round and stays under contract with the team that drafted him so his four-year rookie contract would be worth more than $14 million.
ESPN’s next ACC player to be drafted is Jamir Watkins of Florida State at No. 36. Two more Dukies follow him at No. 43, Tyrese Proctor, and at No. 46, Sion James.
Other ACC players predicted to go in the second half of the second round are Clemson’s Viktor Lakhin and Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis.
That’s it for the ACC, which will be easily out-drafted by every other power conference. And with the exception of Duke, which has another top five recruiting class coming in, it looks like this coming season will not be any better for prospective NBA draft picks.
If Powell is drafted in the first round, he will be Carolina’s first player picked that high since 2021, when Day’Ron Sharpe went to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 29. The last Tar Heels to be lottery picks (top 14) were Coby White (No. 7) and Cameron Johnson (No. 11) in 2019.
Two UNC players have been the first overall selection in the NBA draft. James Worthy was the top pick of the Lakers in 1982, and Brad Daugherty went No. 1 to Cleveland in 1986. Overall, Carolina has had 54 players drafted in the first round, starting with Lennie Rosenbluth in 1957. Kentucky is the all-time leader with 60 first rounders followed by Duke with 56, UNC with 54 and UCLA with 43.
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Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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