Three UNC Players in ESPN’s 2025 NBA Mock Draft

Experts predict that highly rated NBA players will play for the Tar Heels in 2024–25.
In the inaugural 2025 NBA Mock draft released by ESPN, three North Carolina players are taken according to analyst Jonathan Givony. Drake Powell, a five-star prospect, is the first player off the board, selected by the Utah Jazz at No. 10 overall. Fellow five-star Ian Jackson selects the Indiana Pacers at pick No. 19, while rookie Elliot Cadeau selects the San Antonio Spurs at pick No. 35 in the second round.

Since Coby White (No. 7), Cam Johnson (No. 11), and Nassir Little (No. 25) were picked in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, UNC has not had two or more players selected in the same round. UNC has two one-and-done drafts in history, and that was the only instance of that happening.

Cadeau, a five-star recruit who is rated as the No. 2 point guard and No. 12 overall player in the class of 2023, reclassified to enroll at UNC one year early. This season, he has participated in all 28 games (23 starts), averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 19.4% from three-point range and 42.6 percent from the field. ESPN anticipates that he will return for his second season to play with Powell, Jackson, and James Brown, his old classmates.
Powell has soared to the top of 247Sports’ rankings in the last two years. In March 2022, he made his ranking debut as the 74th player in his class. Since then, he has climbed significantly and is presently rated as the ninth best prospect overall in the 2024 class. As a senior at Northwood High School in Pittsboro last season, he packed the box score, averaging 17.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. He made 42.5 percent of his three-pointers and 58.5 percent of his field goals.
National recruiting expert Travis Branham stated, “Powell has made tremendous strides in his development over the last year in every single area.” “He has always had exceptional physical ability, but his skills in passing, creating off the dribble, putting the ball in the air, and shooting from both mid- and long-range are developing. His athleticism also transfers to defense, where he consistently contributes energy and a strong drive. His versatility in the game makes him a high-floor, high-upside player. There’s still a ton of untapped potential.”
In the class of 2024, Jackson is ranked as the eighth prospect and the fourth shooting guard. In the previous season, he averaged 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.7 steals while playing for Our Savior Lutheran School (N.Y.). Since Cole Anthony committed to UNC in 2019, he is the highest-rated prospect to pledge to the university since he was ranked sixth in 2000.

“Jackson has some really impressive highs,” basketball scouting director at 247Sports Adam Finkelstein stated. “After that, he had a few less noteworthy low points. When you see him play, the possibilities are more varied. He has to improve both the consistency of his guarding abilities and his shooting. Although it’s fantastic that he can blow up and have those huge nights, there has to be