Heel Tough Blog: Three Tar Heels Invited to NBA Combine

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The NBA announced its list of participants for this year’s NBA Draft Combine on Friday and three Tar Heels are among the 73 players that will be attending the event May 8-10 in Chicago.

The highest-rated of the group according to the mock drafts is forward Caleb Wilson, who hopes to go top five. Wilson led Carolina in scoring (19.8) and rebounding (9.4), despite only playing 24 games, before injuries cut his season short. He would earn second-team All-American honors despite the injury, which earned him the right to have his jersey in the rafters at the Smith Center.

Joining him in Chicago will be his frontcourt mate Henri Veesaar, who revealed last Friday that he would be entering and staying in the NBA Draft. Veesaar joined UNC this past offseason after starting his career at Arizona, and enjoyed a special season in Chapel Hill, where he averaged 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 61% from the field and 43% from behind the arc.

The surprise of the group from a Tar Heel perspective was seeing transfer addition Matt Able as one of those who will be in attendance. Able played one season for the NC State Wolfpack, appearing in all 34 games, without making a start, and averaged 8.8 points per game, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, while shooting 42% from the field and 36% from behind the arc before entering the portal after Will Wade’s departure. After a short recruitment, Able would commit to Michael Malone and the Tar Heels on April 21st, giving them a sorely needed piece in that backcourt.

There are some fans that are expressing their concerns over this and for good reason. If Able was to stay in the draft, the Tar Heels would lose a key piece of a backcourt that is going to be counted on to carry the team this year. The good news is that he appears on very few two round mock drafts right now and the ones that he does, he is viewed as a mid to late second rounder. Barring a massive showing in Chicago, there is a good chance he will be in Chapel Hill this season.