North Carolina Basketball: Biggest Tar Heels draft busts this century

The North Carolina Tar Heels have a long history of developing NBA players. However, in recent years their reputation has taken a hit as several Tar Heel draft picks have turned out to be busts.

North Carolina has a long and storied history and continued to add to its legacy this past season. The Tar Heels captured its third national title since Roy Williams took over the program in 2003 and seventh NCAA championship overall. UNC has won 398 of its 513 games with Williams roaming the sidelines.

Carolina is expected to be among the teams that will challenge for the national title in 2018, even though the Tar Heels will have to replace several key performers from this past year’s squad. Leading scorer Justin Jackson along with big men Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks are among the players UNC will have to find replacements for.

If Jackson goes in the 2017 NBA’s first round as expected, it will mark the 48th time a Tar Heel as been selected in the opening round. Jackson is not the only Tar Heel who could be selected in the first round as there’s a lot of discussion that center Tony Bradley could also be taken with the first 30 picks. Meeks and Hicks are possible second round picks. Overall, Carolina has had 110 players drafted by NBA teams with 21 of those having played under Williams.

While the Tar Heels’ draftees have had a lot success, there also have been a number of players who have been busts. The following is a look at the top-10 Tar Heel players that have failed to live up to their draft expectations this century.