The NBA Draft is no longer the playground of the Carolinas

Anyone who has been a fan of college basketball for the last few decades knows that teams from the Carolinas have been among the most dominant forces. Those teams turned out dozens of NBA draft picks. They yielded picks that were among the most iconic names in the sport. Draft picks from North Carolina and Duke, among others, were household names. Jordan, Worthy, Laettner, Duncan, Anderson, and Hurley were as familiar to fans as their own siblings. Well, friends, the times they are a changin’.

Over the last few years, college sports has witnessed an unparalleled level of upheaval. With massive television rights fees flowing into the coffers of athletic departments, it was only a matter of time before the players responsible for those revenues were going to demand a piece of the pie. That pressure resulted in the game changing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) income to collegiate players. Between NIL money and the emergence of the “one and done” player, the balance in power has shifted away from traditional blue blood programs. Both March Madness and the NBA Draft were dominated by teams from the Carolinas. Banners were hung from the rafters in gyms of Carolina institutions, and players from the region often would be selected within the first few picks of each year’s draft.

The game is different now, both on and off the court. NIL has turned players into mercenaries, and supremely talented young players are off to the NBA before accumulating 20 college credits. The blue bloods of the Carolinas found themselves paralyzed by staying true to the old successful ways of doing things and the new paradigm of roster upheaval and uncertainty. No matter the level of chaos, fans of the Carolina schools could count on having a multitude of their favorite, or loathed, players be selected in the first round of the draft. What unfolded with the recently concluded draft had to shake even the most diehard fan to their core.

Basketball is no longer a game dominated at the college level by an elite few. Upsets in March and April are no longer surprising. A school that was once a cute story, Gonzaga, now is routinely expected to be a fixture in the Final Four. The game has exploded past the North American borders and is a global game. Where once the top half of the first round would be populated with players from Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, and Clemson, this year’s draft saw three players from France selected in the first 15 selections. The notion that the first Carolina based player would not be drafted until 16th overall must be enough for the loyal partisans to question their own reality.

But that collegiate new world order announced itself with authority. The dry spell was broken with the 16th pick when Duke point guard Jared McCain was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. The 15-pick wait for fans was interminable. For McCain, it may have been a blessing in disguise. He will be heading to a team with an elite superstar Joel Embiid and budding star in Tyrese Maxey. His athletic ability and shooting prowess will be welcomed in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Sixers' title aspirations last year were derailed by poor shooting from the other players around Embiid and Maxey. McCain’s time in ACC competition and in March Madness has forged a tough personality to withstand the playoff grind and playing in front of one of the most demanding fan bases in sports successfully. His addition, combined with free agency moves to come shortly, provide the Sixers with the depth and diversity to make a deep playoff run in the Eastern Conference meat grinder.

If not having a player taken in the top half of the draft was enough to give Carolina fans the vapors, having to wait until the second round for the next player to be taken might be the trigger of an anger stroke. This season the NBA adopted a two day draft format with round one being Wednesday evening and round two on Thursday afternoon. The extra day allowed fans to marinate in their misery overnight. Fortunately for them, the wait in round two was brief. With the second pick of the second round, 32nd overall, the Utah Jazz selected McCain’s teammate, power forward Kyle Filipowski. Lasting until the second round was a bitter pill for Filipowski who was consistently placed in the teens in mock drafts. He is also joining a team in transition. The Jazz have fallen behind their mountain rivals, the Denver Nuggets, and have begun the process of retooling. He will join fellow draft picks Cody Williams (10th overall, Colorado) and Isiah Collier (29th overall, USC) in forming a new nucleus. Filipowski and Collier should have ample motivation once they begin playing professionally as both saw their draft stock fall precipitously. The Jazz will have him in the weight room to bulk up his 230 pound, 6-foot-11 frame in hope of maximizing his use on both ends of the floor.

True horror was averted with the San Antonio Spurs and the 48th overall selection of North Carolina small forward Harrison Ingram. An NBA draft without a Tar Heel is like Halloween without candy. It just can’t happen. Like McCain, Ingram finds himself in an enviable situation. The Spurs are a young team on the rise. Lead by generational talent Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio is stock piling young talent with immense potential. Ingram is the type of player to do the dirty work that garners little fanfare in the box score but is irreplaceable on championship rosters. He will not receive starter’s minutes, but his desire and hustle will be infectious when he is on the court. Ingram is not just an in the trenches grunt, but plays a heady, well-rounded game. During his time in Chapel Hill, Ingram never shied away from the big moments. His equally young teammates will gravitate to his confidence.

The conclusion of the draft was not the end of talent acquisition for NBA franchises. A handful of college players signed with teams as undrafted free agents. These players are given nothing more than a brief shot of professional basketball. These contracts rarely prove to be nothing more than a chance to come to the NBA’s Summer League and team training camps. These players hope to work themselves on to D League rosters and a steady paycheck. They could also catch the eye of other organizations that might see potential in them. If all else fails, they will have a video resume for overseas leagues. Three players from the Carolinas signed such contracts. Clemson center PJ Hall, once considered a first round prospect, was signed by the Nuggets. North Carolina forward Armando Bacot will join his former rival Filipowski with the Jazz. The Cleveland Cavaliers signed NC State forward PJ Barnes. The Cavaliers made just one selection in the draft when they drafted California Bears shooting guard Jaylon Tyson 20th overall. Because Cleveland did not select a forward, Hall will have the opportunity to work his way into the Cavaliers organization.

Carolina fans are dismayed at the lack of love the NBA community showed their favorite schools in this year’s draft. Time will tell if this was an aberration or the beginning of a sad new reality. The question becomes will players from the Carolinas routinely be bypassed for prospects from non-traditional programs such as Weber State, Creighton, and Akron, or even Europe? Was this year just a bad dream or the start of a recurring nightmare?

Emmet Mahon can be reached at emmet@draftcarolina.com