Evidently, UNC basketball freshman Drake Powell’s summer season performances, together with the 6-foot-6, 195-pound ahead’s current shows on the Nike Expertise Academy in Portland, Ore., have caught the eye of NBA scouts and draft consultants alike.
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Powell, a five-star McDonald’s All-American ahead out of Northwood Excessive College in close by Pittsboro, N.C., has appeared as a projected 2025 late lottery decide or simply outdoors No. 14 total on a number of websites. However in Bleacher Report’s newest mock draft this week, Jonathan Wasserman slots the 18-year-old — he turns 19 in three weeks — at No. 5 total.
Wasserman outlined what NBA people and UNC basketball followers are positive to love about Powell’s sport:
“Drake Powell acquired some high quality expertise this summer season at Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp and the Nike Expertise Academy. He’ll construct an actual case for starter minutes with extra versatility at each ends than North Carolina wings Ian Jackson and Cade Tyson. Head coach Hubert Davis will be capable of slide Powell into a number of positions and roles. He is extraordinarily well-rounded and is able to making performs on and off the ball along with his pull-up, passing, improved catch-and-shoot sport and athleticism. Powell goes to make his mark this coming season by impacting video games in numerous methods.”
Once more, Wasserman is actually not alone in noticing a major rise in Powell’s perceived professional inventory all through the offseason. No, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony additionally highlighted the heralded Tar Heel newcomer’s Nike Expertise Academy prowess earlier this month:
Standout efficiency from UNC’s Drake Powell at Nike Academy, exhibiting a formidable mix of defensive versatility, depth, passing and perimeter taking pictures confidence. Impacts successful in a wide range of methods and has important room to proceed to develop long-term. pic.twitter.com/ljoT2as00o
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) August 8, 2024
The one different UNC basketball participant in Wasserman’s first-round-only mock draft is one other member of the Tar Heels’ 2024 recruiting class in McDonald’s All-American guard Ian Jackson at No. 28 total.
