North Carolina Basketball: Biggest Tar Heels draft busts this century

Tier 1: Two more late first round picks

2. P.J. Hairston, 26th overall pick

P.J. Hairston played two seasons at UNC from 2011-13, but he was not technically selected out of college. Hairston, who was suspended in 2013, did not return to Carolina for the 2013-14 campaign. Instead, he played for the Texas Legends that year before entering the NBA draft.

Hairston was seen as someone who could light up the scoreboard coming into the 2014 draft. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 26th pick in the first round. Hairston appeared in 93 games for the Hornets in a year and a half. He also played 18 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015-16. Harrison spent the entire 2016-17 campaign with Rio Grande Valley Vipors.

Hairston has a NBA average of 6.0 points in 111 career games. He has a career 7.9 PER as well as 0.9 win shares.

1. Joe Forte, 21st overall pick

Joe Forte was one of the best scorers in the ACC in his two years at Carolina. He played for the Tar Heels from 1999-2001, averaging 18.7 points along with 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists a game. The Atlanta native was named the 2001-02 Co-ACC Player of the Year, along with Shane Battier, after tallying 20.2 points a game. Forte also earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2000-01.

The Boston Celtics used the #21 overall pick in the 2001 draft on the 6’4″ shooting guard. Forte struggled with the switch to point guard and ended up playing just two seasons in the NBA. He averaged 1.2 points on 23.4% shooting from the field in 25 games while playing for the Celtics and Seattle Supersonics. However, Forte did end up playing professionally until 2014-15, so he had a quality career.

Gerald Wallace, Samuel Dalembert, Jamaal Tinsley, and Tony Parker were among the players selected after Forte in the first round.

Next: Tar Heels Best Draft Picks

As you can see, the North Carolina Tar Heels might have had some of the best college players over the last 20 years or so, but there have several who flopped at the next level. The hope is that one of the players in this draft class (Justin Jackson, maybe?) emerges onto the scene and puts the record straight on Tar Heel players in the Association.