The ACC led all conferences with eight players selected in the NBA Draft (10, if you count the new members that will join the league on July 1).
And while it wasn’t the banner year the league usually has, the ACC still fared quite well. It has had at least one first-round pick for 25 straight years, which is quite a feat.
Despite all the buzz about Maryland’s Alex Len potentially going No. 1 overall, he went at a more reasonable spot (No. 5 to Phoenix). The Suns need guys at every position, and so Len should have an opportunity to play early next year.
Syracuse’s 6-foot-6 point guard, Michael Carter-Williams, went to Philadelphia at 11th overall, where he will join another player thought to have been the No. 1 pick, but wasn’t — Kentucky's Nerlens Noel. Orange head coach Jim Boeheim thinks the Sixers might have had an "all-time great" draft by nabbing those two after Philly traded for Noel.
Pittsburgh center Steven Adams went to Oklahoma City at No. 12, and he will be a long-term project. But the Thunder have drafted as well as any team the last few years, and they clearly saw something in Adams.
After that, things went pretty much according to plan for the ACC. Miami's Shane Larkin went No. 18 to the Atlanta Hawks (before going to to Dallas), while Duke’s Mason Plumlee went 22nd overall (Brooklyn Nets) and North Carolina's Reggie Bullock went No. 25 to the L.A. Clippers.
Larkin is in a good situation in Dallas, as the Mavericks really need a point guard. And owner Mark Cuban thought Larkin was the ninth-best player in the draft. It's hard to say how well Plumlee will fit in in Brooklyn, considering things in Nets' front office are a bit insane at the moment.
Bullock supposedly did very well in the interview process, and it probably doesn't hurt that a guy with a similar skill set (and a fellow Carolina alum) Danny Green had a breakout performance in the NBA Playoffs for the Spurs.
After former Georgia Tech star Glen Rice, Jr. went 35th to Philadelphia (then traded to Washington), the second round held plenty of surprises. ACC Player of the Year Erick Green (from Virginia Tech) went 46th — the lowest-drafted ACC POY in over 40 years.
At No. 46, #Hokies Erick Green the lowest-drafted #ACC Player of Year since Wake Forest's Charlie Davis went 8th round in 1971.
— David Teel (@DavidTeelatDP) June 28, 2013
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night for the ACC was Duke’s Ryan Kelly. Expected to be a fringe second-rounder at best and likely undrafted, he went No. 48 overall to the Lakers.
North Carolina State point guard Lorenzo Brown went 52nd to the Minnesota Timberwolves, while his talented-but-mercurial teammate C.J. Leslie went undrafted.
Leslie has since signed a free agent deal with the New York Knicks, but he might not have even been the biggest snub. Syracuse’s James Southerland was thought to be a sure-fire second-rounder.
According to Syracuse.com, Southerland was going to be drafted at No. 58 by the Spurs, but the organization wanted him to spend a year in Europe. Either he or his agent declined the offer, and he has yet to find a free-agent home.
Duke's Seth Curry, one of the best players in the league last year despite a foot injury, also went undrafted. He recenty had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his leg, and that surgery will prevent him from participating in summer league . But it’s hard to imagine the younger brother of Stephen Curry, with that patented Curry shooting touch, will stay on the market for long.
Miami forward Kenny Kadji likely didn't get drafted because of his age (25), but he's already found a home as a free agent, signing with the Cavaliers. His teammate, Durand Scott, signed with the Spurs, and center Reggie Johnson has yet to find a summer league team (but should).
Other undrafted free agents out of the ACC to sign: N.C. State's Scott Wood (Clippers) and Richard Howell (Nuggets); Notre Dame's Jack Cooley (Grizzlies), Syracuse's Brandon Triche (Bobcats) and Wake Forest's C.J. Harris (Nuggets).
Keep an eye out for news on other high-profile ACC seniors who have yet to sign, including Clemson's Milton Jennings and Devin Booker, Florida State’s Michael Snaer, Pitt's Tray Woodall and UNC's Dexter Strickland.
(P.S. It’s worth signing Snaer to fill a Robert Horry role, if nothing else. All he does is hit game-winners.)
