Here’s what happened inside former UNC star Day’Ron Sharpe’s NBA draft party
Dwayne West, the former director of Garner Road Basketball Club, had one question for the teary-eyed father of North Carolina’s Day’Ron Sharpe after his son was the 29th overall pick in the NBA draft by the Brooklyn Nets via the Phoenix Suns.
Derrick Sharpe surreptitiously moved about the Emerald Ball Room East in the Greenville Convention Center individually thanking each of the nearly 200 invited guests who attended the former 6-foot-11 forward’s draft party. West weaved through the closely positioned tables and caught up to him.
“Do you believe me now?”
West told the elder Sharpe back when Day’Ron was in the ninth grade that his son had a future in the NBA. West would know. too. His brother, David, played 15 seasons in the NBA and helped coach other pros from the area, like John Wall and T.J. Warren.
“When Dave was in the league and Day’Ron was in the 11th grade, he was giving David a hard time then — like my brother really had to play to beat him,” West said. “That was confirmation in itself.”
Day’Ron Sharpe’s NBA coronation on Thursday night capped off just after 11 p.m. with some party goers having waited patiently since 6 p.m. in the ballroom to hear his name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Anxious in the unknown
Sharpe never appeared outwardly antsy, but everyone present was a bit anxious to finally know where he was heading. About 75 minutes into the draft broadcast, noise from the collective conversations simultaneously taking place at 17 tables around the ballroom, whoever could hear ESPN’s Jay Bilas talking about Sharpe tried shushing everyone so Bilas could be heard.
The San Antonio Spurs were on the clock with the 12th pick. He wasn’t projected to go that high, but knowing he’d been talked about made the crowd get silent for every announced pick that followed.
They would have waited six more hours if that’s what it took. A couple of boys that appeared around 7-years-old even resorted to jumping jacks and push-ups in the hallway to try to stay awake in the late hour.
They all believed in Day’Ron Sharpe. And he believed in them. That’s why he meticulously put together an invite list that included people from all of his stops along his way to the NBA. Assorted members of his church and family elders, some dressed in suits topped off with fedoras mingled with members of his various high school and grassroots basketball teammates, former classmates, neighbors and family.
“I wanted everybody that was there during the journey to celebrate with me,” he told the News & Observer. “I got a huge heart, I’m a loving person. I care about everybody that was out here.”
Guests entered the ballroom while the disc jockey played energetic, uptempo and encouraging songs like the Sounds of Blackness, “Optimistic;” Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Shining Star;” and Kanye West’s, “Touch the Sky.” (There was even a hint of what Sharpe could face in the league, “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems,” by the Notorious B.I.G.)
Some passed time early on visiting two tables at the back of the room on each side of the big screen projector. One table had five pictures of family members and friends who passed away, including a former coach’s son lost to cancer. Guests were presented orange ribbons to wear as a tribute when they arrived and were checked in by a Pitt County sheriff’s deputy.
Another table was packed with basketball accouterments and myriad accolades Sharpe achieved throughout his life. There was the five-inch trophy that acknowledge Sharpe as an “accelerated reader” from Northwest Elementary School in 2010; his baseball plaque from 2006 as a 6-year older outfielder measured at 4-foot-1; and lots of jerseys from his No. 11 Carolina blue road uniform to the No. 34 red Farmville Middle School jersey.
The music subsided and gave way to the draft broadcast, as attendees indulged in a catered buffet with baked chicken, pulled barbecue, cabbage, macaroni and cheese and red velvet cake for dessert.
A tight-knit circle
The night felt like part church-service, complete with hearing ‘amen’ as affirmation during different speakers addressed the crowd. It was part family reunion, complete with wondering if the potato salad would taste like it does at home. And part awards banquet recognizing what all the hard work was for in the first place.
“When you invite somebody in your circle, that’s family, so that’s what we believe in,” Sharpe’s mother, Michelle said. “We believe in loyalty and that’s what we have done on this road. I don’t think we have left a bad seed each time we went to a different milestone. This is family in here, whether it’s blood or not, even down to the coaches.”
Sharpe was especially appreciative to all of his former trainers and coaches. During the informal program, six coaches or trainers spoke ranging from middle school on up to his last coach.
“When Michelle first talked to me about this, I was thinking, you know, I think it needs to be for family,” said Roy Williams, who noted it was his first NBA draft party as UNC’s newly retired coach. “I wanted to come and I’m glad I did because I learned something else, family is here, because you guys love Day’Ron Sharpe just like I do.”
Williams has told the story many times of the conversation he had as an assistant coach with Michael Jordan in his freshman year with the Tar Heels. Jordan pledged that no one would outwork him. Williams said no one outworked Sharpe preparing for the draft.
Sharpe showed up at Proactive Training in California weighing 275 pounds. His agent, Ty Sullivan with Creative Artists Agency , said their goal was to get him to 255. By the time he interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets, Sullivan said Sharpe weighed 254 pounds.
His focus and determination is why Williams closed his speech by noting the high expectations he has for Sharpe’s career.
“I made this promise to several guys and I’m making it to Day’Ron right now,” Williams said. “I’ll see your first NBA game. If I live long enough, I’ll see your last. I told that Paul Pierce, he played 19 years and this fall, Paul Pierce is going to go into the Basketball Hall of Fame. That’s what I expect out of you.”
Finally forward
Sullivan periodically popped up from his seat between Sharpe and Williams at the head table to pace through phone calls in the hallway. This final time, at 10:59 p.m., Sullivan began clapping to himself as he returned to the table, and the room reacted with its own applause. The buzz came from not knowing the exact reason why, but excitement from the anticipation.
Sullivan got assurance from the Brooklyn Nets that Day’Ron Sharpe was their guy at 29, by way of a trade with the Suns, just prior to the Philadelphia 76ers selecting the 28th pick. It caused them to erupt with cheers only to be let down when Jaden Springer’s name was announced. It only made them cheer louder for the next pick when Silver finally said the name Day’Ron Sharpe.
“It’s a dream come true, like my dream was just to be picked in the first round and that happened tonight, 29th pick,” Sharpe said. “A lot of guys picked before me but that doesn’t really matter to me I’m in there now. Now that I’m in there, it’s time for me to prove that I belong.”
But first, he was still giving thanks. It seemed as if Sharpe was set to take a picture with every guest. He worked his way around the ballroom, with hugs for some, a handshake and pound for others. He then made an announcement that anyone who wanted a picture should follow him.
In a separate room down the hall, a backdrop with a montage of photos of Sharpe from Montverde Academy and Carolina, he stood as a turnstile of guests stepped forward to take pictures. He probably would have stayed there until every one came forward, but momma put that to rest.
At 11:36 p.m., after a gentle ask, she commanded everybody to exit because they had to close up the convention center.
Sharpe held court outside on the curb for another 15 minutes, laughing, smiling, exchanging handshakes with his friends. Until he himself had enough. He hopped in his white Ford F-150 truck and drive off, ready to begin a new journey in the NBA.
This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 3:00 PM.