Four North Carolina players were among the top 17 picks of Thursday night’s 2012 NBA Draft in Newark, N.J., giving the Tar Heels 13 first-round picks and 10 Draft Lottery selections in nine seasons under head coach Roy Williams.
“It’s exciting,” Williams said. “It’s exciting for the families, it’s exciting for me, the other guys on our team, our program. It’s an exciting time.”
Sophomore forward Harrison Barnes, as many expected, went No. 7 overall to Golden State, sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall went No. 13 to Phoenix, junior forward John Henson went No. 14 to Milwaukee and senior forward Tyler Zeller went No. 17 to Dallas (before being traded to Cleveland several minutes later).
With Barnes, Marshall and Henson going in the Lottery portion of the Draft, Carolina boasts 10 Lottery picks in the last eight years. Twenty-two Tar Heels have been top-10 picks since 1966, more than any other school in the nation.
“[Golden State] has great front office people and I love the general manager, love the owner,” Barnes said. “I’m just trying to work as hard as I can and help my team as best I can. I’m just really blessed to be in this position. No matter what pick I was drafted, obviously I’m very thankful that Golden State drafted me and I’m happy to be here.”
The feeling is mutual. “We’re thrilled,” Warriors GM Bob Myers told reporters. “He’s got great value and we’re excited. He fits what we need. You guys will love him. A great kid, great player. We’re just excited.”
Shortly after being picked, Barnes tweeted, “First and foremost, all the glory and power to the God Almighty.” Then he tweeted, “Thank you to my mom, sister, Coach Vance Downs, Coach Roy Williams, my agent Jeff Wechsler, and all the other people who helped me get here.”
Marshall simply tweeted, “I can’t believe this…I’m in the NBA.”
Marshall went a little higher than most prognosticators thought at 13. Mostly commonly the mock drafts had Marshall going at No. 20 to Denver. Henson went a tad lower as most thought Detroit would take him at No. 9. Zeller also went slightly lower than most thought as some board had him going as high as No. 11 to Portland. Zeller was traded to Cleveland for three draft picks.
The other first-round picks under head coach Roy Williams include Marvin Williams (2005), Raymond Felton (2005), Sean May (2005), Rashad McCants (2005), Brandan Wright (2007), Tyler Hansbrough (2009), Ty Lawson (2009), Wayne Ellington (2009), Ed Davis (2010) in addition to the 2012 quartet.