University of North Carolina Athletics
Day'Ron Sharpe
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
NBA Draft Night Arrives For Sharpe
July 28, 2021 | Men's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL—With the arrival of Thursday night's 2021 NBA Draft, Day'Ron Sharpe hopes to become the latest University of North Carolina player to be drafted and join the professional ranks.
The freshman forward was second in voting for ACC Rookie of the Year and earned a slot on the ACC All-Freshman Team while leading the nation in offensive rebound percentage. He declared for the Draft after the season, becoming Carolina's fourth one-and-done entrant in the last three years (joining Coby White and Nassir Little in 2019 and Cole Anthony in 2020).
Sharpe hopes to become the 54th first-round NBA Draft pick in Carolina history and the 34th to play for former head coach Roy Williams, who retired after the 2020-21 season and was replaced by Hubert Davis.
The Draft is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Thursday July 29 and will be televised by ESPN.
• Fifty-three former Tar Heels have been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, one behind Kentucky for the highest number of first-round selections.
• Carolina had a player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in 35 different seasons.
• Thirty-three of Roy Williams' players have been selected in the first round – 22 Tar Heels and 11 Kansas Jayhawks.
• Five Tar Heels and five Jayhawks who played for Williams were selected in the second round of the NBA Draft.
ACC All-Freshman team • Was second in the voting for ACC Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year (Florida State's Scottie Barnes won both) • Led the country in offensive rebound percentage (.183) and the ACC in offensive rebounds (3.4 per game) • Tied for the team lead in blocks (26), was second in rebounding (7.6), third in steals (23) and fourth in scoring (9.5) • His 7.0 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes were the most in a season on record by any Tar Heel (Kennedy Meeks had 6.25 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes in 2016-17) • His 15.8 rebounds per 40 minutes were the second-highest on record in a season by a Tar Heel behind only Sean May's 16.01 in 2004-05 • Led UNC with six defensive player of the game awards (Stanford, at NC State, at Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Louisville and Florida State in the ACC semifinals) • Led UNC in scoring four times, including at home vs. Notre Dame (25), at Clemson (16), vs. Northeastern (15) and Louisville (21) • Averaged 10.0 points in ACC games • Eighth in the ACC in rebounding • Grabbed 44.5 percent of his rebounds on the offensive boards • Had five or more offensive rebounds seven times • Scored in double figures 12 times (two of last eight games) and had 10 or more boards eight times • Six double-doubles.
The freshman forward was second in voting for ACC Rookie of the Year and earned a slot on the ACC All-Freshman Team while leading the nation in offensive rebound percentage. He declared for the Draft after the season, becoming Carolina's fourth one-and-done entrant in the last three years (joining Coby White and Nassir Little in 2019 and Cole Anthony in 2020).
Sharpe hopes to become the 54th first-round NBA Draft pick in Carolina history and the 34th to play for former head coach Roy Williams, who retired after the 2020-21 season and was replaced by Hubert Davis.
The Draft is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Thursday July 29 and will be televised by ESPN.
CAROLINA IN THE NBA DRAFT NOTES
• 117 former Tar Heels have been selected in the NBA Draft. UNC has the third-most alumni selected in the NBA Draft behind Kentucky (135) and UCLA (124).• Fifty-three former Tar Heels have been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, one behind Kentucky for the highest number of first-round selections.
• Carolina had a player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in 35 different seasons.
• Thirty-three of Roy Williams' players have been selected in the first round – 22 Tar Heels and 11 Kansas Jayhawks.
• Five Tar Heels and five Jayhawks who played for Williams were selected in the second round of the NBA Draft.
SHARPE NOTES
FRESHMAN SEASON (2020-21)ACC All-Freshman team • Was second in the voting for ACC Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year (Florida State's Scottie Barnes won both) • Led the country in offensive rebound percentage (.183) and the ACC in offensive rebounds (3.4 per game) • Tied for the team lead in blocks (26), was second in rebounding (7.6), third in steals (23) and fourth in scoring (9.5) • His 7.0 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes were the most in a season on record by any Tar Heel (Kennedy Meeks had 6.25 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes in 2016-17) • His 15.8 rebounds per 40 minutes were the second-highest on record in a season by a Tar Heel behind only Sean May's 16.01 in 2004-05 • Led UNC with six defensive player of the game awards (Stanford, at NC State, at Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Louisville and Florida State in the ACC semifinals) • Led UNC in scoring four times, including at home vs. Notre Dame (25), at Clemson (16), vs. Northeastern (15) and Louisville (21) • Averaged 10.0 points in ACC games • Eighth in the ACC in rebounding • Grabbed 44.5 percent of his rebounds on the offensive boards • Had five or more offensive rebounds seven times • Scored in double figures 12 times (two of last eight games) and had 10 or more boards eight times • Six double-doubles.
Board man gets paid 💪#CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/zyKBjHkkkE
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) July 28, 2021
Players Mentioned
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