NBA draft expected to be thin on UNC, Duke, NCSU players

Twice in the past four years, the NBA draft has plucked six first-rounders from Triangle-based teams.

But the 2021 NBA draft on Thursday night will have a very different feel. There won’t be a parade of players from Duke, North Carolina or N.C. State being taken, and the irony is the highest-projected player barely played at all.

Jalen Johnson, who opted out at Duke in February to begin preparing for the draft, and North Carolina forward Day’Ron Sharpe could be the only two area players who will hear their names called on Thursday.

The last time Triangle schools did not have at at least three players taken in the draft was in 2010, when Carolina forward Ed Davis, taken 13th overall by Toronto, was the lone player selected.

Johnson, who averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists for Duke, was invited by the NBA to be in New York City sitting in the Green Room for the draft. Chances are, he’ll be a lottery pick, taken in the first 14 selections.

His Duke teammates, forward Matthew Hurt and guard D.J. Steward, have not been on most draft boards. Neither have N.C. State forward D.J. Funderburk and guard Devon Daniels.

Sharpe will be home in Greenville, N.C., for the draft with family and friends. He’s surprised many teams by shedding around 20 pounds and showing off his perimeter shooting, which is not something he did a lot of for the Tar Heels.

“I knew going in what I had to do,” Sharpe told The News & Observer. “People say I can’t shoot and (I needed) to change my body. Those were the two things I had to work on the most.”

Sharpe trained in California with Proactive Sports Performance founder Don MacLean, a former 6-foot-10 forward who led UCLA and the Pac-12 in all-time scoring. Sharpe said his schedule was different from the other players who trained at Proactive. He had to show up earlier for 30 to 40 minutes of cardio before their workouts began.

Sharpe, a 6-foot-11 forward who led UNC with 7.6 rebounds per game, said it paid off as his playing weight is about 258 pounds now. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Sharpe as the first pick of the second round.

Jalen Johnson talks NBA Draft, Coach K

Despite playing just 13 games for the Blue Devils, Johnson gave a lot of credit to coach Mike Krzyzewski for putting him in a position to be taken so high.

“He taught me so much, (he) was one of the first people who believed in my basketball skills before I actually believed in my basketball skills,” Johnson told reporters on a video conference on Friday. “He’s someone who helped lay out the blueprint for my vision.”

Prognosticators have picked a wide range for Johnson; some have him taken late in the first round.

Johnson, a 6-foot-8 forward, started in the eight games he played with the Blue Devils before shutting it down. That decision probably would not have drawn much scrutiny if it weren’t for his pattern of leaving that was established in high school.

Johnson, who grew up outside of Milwaukee, Wisc., attended Sun Prairie High as a freshman before going to Nicolet High School through his junior year. He transferred to IMG Academy in Florida, but did not finish his senior season there. He ended up leaving IMG to return to Nicolet High in January of his senior year.

“As far as red flags, people say a lot of things about me, but they say those things without knowing me so I don’t really pay attention to that,” Johnson said. “What was said in the media, teams don’t even question (my) character or any of that.”