Surprising UNC basketball player lands in lottery for ESPN’s 2025 NBA draft mock

The 2024 NBA draft is officially in the books as the North Carolina Tar Heels saw Harrison Ingram selected in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs, along with Armando Bacot signing a deal with the Utah Jazz.

With the completion of the draft, analysts are already looking ahead to the 2025 NBA draft. That draft is still a year away but it’s never too early to look at prospects who could be lottery picks or players selected in the first round.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo put together their list for the draft and three North Carolina players land in the initial mock. But unlike the CBS Sports mock where Ian Jackson and Elliot Cadeau was in the first round, it’s freshman Drake Powell who is the highest-mocked player, going No. 11 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Following Powell, Jackson was projected to go No. 25 to the Brooklyn Nets and then Elliot Cadeau as the No. 47 overall player. Those are the only three players named in the mock draft.

Cadeau had a solid first season with the Tar Heels and a big improvement in his second season would help his draft stock a lot. As for both Jackson and Powell, they are entering their first seasons at North Carolina as five-star recruits.

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