[ad_1]
First-year forward in North Carolina Day’Ron Sharpe puts his name in the 2021 NBA Draft, he said on Wednesday. The former McDonald’s All-American did not mention testing the waters, and sources familiar with the situation confirm to Inside Carolina that Sharpe intends to stay in the draft and does not plan to leave open the possibility of returning. at school.
“I always said I wanted to go to UNC. I received many offers, but I chose to wait for UNC to offer me – trust me, I don’t regret that decision. “Sharpe said in his announcement. “Over the past year, I have met people who I never thought would have such an impact on my life. My teammates and I have worked together, loved together, laughed together, played and cried together. . I love the bond we have made. I also want to thank the coaching staff for believing that I would be a great addition to the team.
“I feel like I’m now ready for the next level. I have made it this far and there is no reason for me to stop now! … This is just the beginning of a dream I have worked so hard for. That being said, I will be declaring myself for the NBA Draft with high hopes for the support of my Carolina family. Once a heel of tar, always a heel of tar! “
The Greenville, NC native took home All-ACC Freshman honors after averaging 9.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He shot 51.9 percent from the ground, tied for the team lead with 26 blocks and was arguably the team’s best passer distributing 42 assists. Sharpe was second behind Scottie Barnes of Florida State in the ACC freshman and sixth man of the year votes.
“Day’Ron is going to be a fantastic professional player,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said in a statement. “I loved training him. He’s got an extremely high engine. He’s naturally one of the greatest rebounders I’ve ever trained and a young man I’ve really enjoyed. I think over the years. next few years, if he gets even a little more disciplined, a little more focused, we’re going to see an incredible player at a professional level, just like I think he’s been lucky to be an incredible player here for us. J loved coaching him and will cheer him on forever. “
The 6-10, 265-pound forward provided energy and athleticism on the bench for the Tar Heels. He led the country in offensive rebound percentage (0.183) and the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (3.4). In ACC games, Sharpe led the conference in offensive rebound percentage (0.20) and placed third in defensive rebound percentage (24.7). He finished the season with the highest offensive rebounds per 40-minute average in school history (7.0), improving Kennedy Meeks’ 6.25 mark in 2016-17.
“His tenacity, his effort to try to get every rebound off the attacking side, I think that’s great,” senior forward Garrison Brooks said last month. “He always wants to get the ball out of the glass because it’s just something he naturally has a knack for.”
Sharpe had seven doubles-doubles and led the team with six defensive player of the game awards. He scored a career-high 25 points against Notre Dame on Jan. 2 and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds three days later in Miami.
“He’s been phenomenal in our training,” Roy Williams said in January. “Even in early fall when we were training and we had guys like Tyler Zeller, Tyler Hansbrough and Theo (Pinson) and Cam (Johnson) and Coby (White), those were the five guys from the blue team one day he was really good and they were all extremely impressed with Day’Ron.
“I think bringing him to this level is just a testament to how he kept working … And he plays so hard that he shakes things up and normally shakes things up for the company.” North Carolina.
Sharpe is ranked 33rd in the ESPN NBA Draft and is the only UNC candidate to be drafted in the first round. His decision to enter the project is even more significant given Walker Kessler transfer announcement earlier this week.
[ad_2]
Source link