Basketball

These NC high school products could be selected in Thursday's NBA draft

Former Greenfield guard Coby White headlines the class of former North Carolina high school players who could be selected in Thursday's NBA Draft.

Posted Updated

By
Kyle Morton
, HighSchoolOT producer

The NBA draft is taking place on Thursday night in Brooklyn, New York.

Given the state of North Carolina's high level of basketball play throughout the state, it should come as no surprise that there are more than a few North Carolina products who could hear their names called in one of the 60 slots.

The representation for North Carolina college products is even stronger, with Duke's Zion Williamson all but a sure bet to go first overall, and college teammates R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish should not be far behind.

Here are a few of the players who played high school ball in North Carolina who could have their NBA dreams come true on Thursday night.

Kyran Bowman (1) of Havelock. Hunt came from behind to defeat Havelock 59-53 in the 3-A boys basketball East Regional semifinal on Thursday, Mar. 5, 2015. (Photo By: Nick Stevens/HighSchoolOT.com)

Ky Bowman, Havelock

Before teaming up with fellow North Carolina high school product Jerome Robinson at Boston College, Bowman spent his high school years tearing it up at Havelock.

He averaged 23.4 points per game in his senior season, leading the Rams to the regional semifinal of the 3A state playoffs.

Last year, Robinson (a Broughton alum) was selected in the first round of the draft.

This year, Bowman will get his opportunity to enter the league.

If Bowman gets drafted, it will almost assuredly be in the second round, but his scoring ability and all-around play should allow him to garner interest and opportunities if he goes undrafted.

Chris Clemons (3) of Millbrook. Millbrook jumped out to a big lead early on and never looked back en route to a 104-79 win in the 4-A boys basketball East Regional semifinal on Thursday, Mar. 5, 2015. (Photo By: Nick Stevens/HighSchoolOT.com)

Chris Clemons, Millbrook

The former Millbrook scoring machine used his time at Campbell to make the bigger programs in the area who passed over him regret that decision.

Clemons averaged 24.8 points per game for his career in Buies Creek, including an astonishing 30.1 in his senior year.

As a senior at Millbrook in 2014-2015, Clemons led the Wildcats to an outstanding 26-3 season that ended in the regional final against Garner.

In that season, Clemons dropped 24.1 points per game to go with 4.1 assists per contest and 3.7 rebounds.

Clemons has a chance to be selected in the second round, but is likely to generate interest as an undrafted free agent in the event he is not picked.

Jaylen Hoard, Wesleyan Christian Academy

Hoard spent his college days playing for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Despite playing through a tough year for the Deacs, Hoard still put up impressive numbers-- averaging 13.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

As a senior at Wesleyan Christian, Hoard helped his team to a state runner-up finish.

Hoard's skill set and potential should be enough to get him selected in the latter half of the season.

Luke Maye (43) of Hough boxes out Rob Brown (33) of Millbrook. The East boys basketball team survived a comeback by the West to claim a 122-115 win in the NCCA East-West All-Star Game at the Greensboro Coliseum on Monday, July 20, 2015 . (Photo By: Nick Stevens/HighSchoolOT.com)

Luke Maye, Hough

The textbook example of great player development over his four years under Roy Williams at UNC, Maye blossomed from a rotation player who averaged just over 14 minutes per game as a sophomore to a first-team All-ACC performer and third-team All-American as a junior.

In his senior season at Hough, Maye averaged 20.7 points and 14.2 rebounds per game.

Maye's tenacious rebounding ability and strong mid-range game make him a legitimate NBA prospect, even if it's not overly likely he gets picked on Thursday.

Expect Maye to get a look somewhere as an undrafted free agent.

Coby White (0) of Greenfield High School.  Millbrook Showcase presented by HighSchoolOT.com at Millbrook High School on December 2, 2017.  The fourth and final game of the night features Garner vs Greenfield.

Photo credit: Suzie Wolf

Coby White, Greenfield School

Before Coby White took the ACC by storm in his lone season in Carolina blue, he was setting records as a member of the Greenfield Knights in Wilson.

As a senior at Greenfield, White led the Knights to a 25-10 record while averaging 31 points per game. White was also recognized as the male basketball player of the year at HighSchoolOT Honors in 2018.

White averaged 16.1 points and 4.1 assists per game in his year at UNC as he helped the Tar Heels to a berth in the Sweet 16 before a loss to Auburn.

White is easily the best prospect among North Carolina high school products, and is highly likely to be selected within the top 10 picks, with the Phoenix Suns (No. 6) and Chicago Bulls (No. 7) among the likely landing spots for the lightning-quick guard.

Grant Williams, Providence Day

In three seasons playing for the Tennessee Volunteers, Williams became one of the premier college basketball players in the country.

The Providence Day product was a first team All-American and SEC player of the year this past year in his junior season in which he averaged 18.8 points per game and led the Volunteers to the Sweet 16.

Williams is likely to be selected at the tail end of the first round or early in the second round.

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