Did UNC players get drafted? Taking a closer look at Round 1 selections of the 2024 NBA Draft
UNC had high hopes ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft’s first round on Wednesday night despite the polarizing nature of the process. A total of 30 players from the United States and beyond were selected at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Day 1 of the draft. Let's take a look at the fate of Tar Heels in the draft.
Did UNC players get drafted?
UNC was expecting its players to be drafted for the first time since Day’Ron Sharpe in 2021, on Wednesday night in the 2024 NBA Draft. However, none of the program's players heard their name in the first round of the draft, further extending the wait for the Tar Heels.
The program had three of its former players in the draft; Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan and Armando Bacot. It was expected that at least one of them, Ingram to be precise, will get drafted. This created some high hopes, with many fans waiting to hear his name in the first round.
Ingram not getting committed in the first round comes as a bit of a surprise. The forward, who earned a third-team All-ACC honor in the previous season, was projected as a first-round pick in many mock drafts. Nonetheless, he is expected to get drafted in the second round on Thursday.
On the other hand, Ryan and Armando weren't expected to get drafted. They both did not feature in ESPN 70 best available prospects for the draft. Nonetheless, UNC fans are not ruling out the possibility of one of them being a late pick in Brooklyn on Thursday.
UNC’s history in the draft
UNC have a fantastic history in the NBA Draft. The school has had a total of 113 of its players drafted into the league since the annual draft event began in 1947.
The first Tar Heels player to be drafted into the NBA was Lennie Rosenbluth. The forward was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1957 as the sixth overall pick. Since then, the school has often had representatives in the draft.
The program has produced some of the best players in the history of the league. The most notable is Michael Jordan, who is regarded as the best ever to play in the NBA.
Others include Vince Carter, James Worthy, Walter Davis, Mitch Kupchak, Bobby Jones, Rasheed Wallace, Brad Daugherty and a host of others.