Will Drake Powell Win NBA Rookie of the Year?

The way same way Omarion Hampton of North Carolina's football team this past season was chosen with the No. 22 pick in the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers — Drake Powell, a one-and-done was also selected with at No. 22 in the NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks — before finding his way to the Brooklyn Nets after a trade went down.

The talent in this year's NBA Draft class is arguably one of the best compared to the last couple of years. Duke Blue Devils' Cooper Flagg went No. 1 to the Dallas Mavericks, Dylan Harper from Rutgers will be in San Antonio with Victory Wembanyama and former Tar Heel Harrison Barnes, plus Baylor's VJ Edgecombe will be in Philadelphia with the 76ers, teaming up with Joel Embiid and Paul George.

All things considered: who will be this year's NBA Rookie of the Year? How does Powell stack up against the competition?

ACC rival, Flagg, is at the top and leads the rookies, given he is this year's No. 1 overall pick, so Powell will have a lot of work to do to compete for the award once the season is over.

GoHeels has more facts about Powell's one and only season in Chapel Hill, writing about the many moments he had playing for Hubert Davis as a frosh:

"Led UNC at plus 2 in a season-high 35 minutes in the home loss to Duke • Hit three 3FGs and had tied his season-high with three assists at Virginia Tech • Made 5 of 6 field goals, scored 16 points, had six rebounds and was a plus 22 vs. Miami • Scored 11 points in 32 minutes and was a plus 15 vs. Virginia (longest stint since January 11 at NC State

• Tied season-high three offensive rebounds (that led to four points) in the home win over NC State • Hit two threes, scored 10 points and made several key defensive plays in win over Pitt (first 3FG tied the game at 51 and the second gave UNC a 56-55 lead) • Scored all 12 of his points at Duke in the second half, when he was 5 for 7 from the floor

• Forced a five-second violation on a baseline out of bounds entry that gave UNC the ball and led to the tying basket at the end of regulation in the win over Boston College • Shared primary coverage assignment on Cal's Andrej Stojakovic, the ACC's leading scorer, who scored four points on 3 of 13 shooting

• Three-pointer at NC State tied the game after the Wolfpack took its largest lead of the game • Scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half in the win over SMU • Season-high 35 minutes played vs. SMU • Tied his season high with four 3FGs vs. the Mustangs (three in the first half) • Clutch three-pointer with 5:00 to play at Notre Dame tied the game at 64  • Made 6 of 11 field goals and had 14 points at Louisville but fouled out with 4:17 to play

• The Cards led 70-69 when he fouled out and out-scored UNC, 13-1, the rest of the game • Twelve points vs. Campbell was his first game in double figures since Michigan State on 11/27 • Made two 3FGs vs. the Camels, first time with multiple threes since the loss to Michigan State • Eight points vs. UCLA was his top scoring game since Maui • Seven points and six rebounds vs. La Salle

• Season highs in field goals (7 for 9), threes (4 for 6), scoring (18) and minutes (33) vs. Michigan State • Made a corner three with 1:13 to play to give UNC the lead at 88-87, a lead it would maintain the rest of the game in the win over Dayton • Scored seven points, had 11 rebounds and blocked three shots vs. American • Hit his first three and scored five points in debut vs. Elon."

Powell is now eyeing the opportunity to earn significant minutes and become a rotation piece for head coach Jordi Fernández.

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