Hildreth, rated as the number one prospect from the UK in the 2021 draft class, committed to Wake Forest, though Arkansas, Xavier, Utah and Georgia Tech were all interested in him too – but the idea of having an impact in North Carolina straight away was very appealing for the 18-year-old.
His future university have only ever seen one of their student-athletes be number one pick in the NBA Draft, when Tim Duncan was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in 1997.
Ironically, Tim Duncan’s former Spurs teammate Tony Parker owns ASVEL Bucket in France, who has Hildreth’s fellow 18-year-old GB teammate Matthew Marsh in their roster – another hot prospect for the future.
On top of Tim Duncan, the Demon Deacons have also seen the likes of Phoenix Suns’ superstar Chris Paul, Atlanta Hawks power forward John Collins and the Boston Celtics’ one-time NBA All-Star Jeff Teague drafted from their team in the first round.