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Agent Selection Scenarios: North Carolina Basketball

The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is back in the ACC Championship game, facing a familiar foe in Duke (the team we covered just yesterday).  I will certainly be switching over to that game when there are breaks in the Florida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats match-up for the SEC Championship.  Much like Duke, North Carolina has produced many NBA players.  Check out the partial list along with their agents of record.

  • Ed Davis – Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
  • Danny Green – Bill Duffy (BDA Sports)
  • Wayne Ellington – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
  • Ty Lawson – Leon Rose (Creative Artists Agency)
  • Tyler Hansbrough – Jeff Schwartz (Excel Sports Management)
  • Reyshawn Terry – Lance Young (Octagon). Currently playing for Brose Baskets of the German League.
  • Brandan Wright – James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
  • David Noel – Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports). Currently playing for Paris-Levallois Basket in France Pro A.
  • Rashad McCants – E. Lindsey Maxwell
  • Sean May – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group). Currently playing for Fenerbahçe Ülker in Turkey.
  • Raymond Felton – Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports)
  • Marvin Williams – James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
  • Joseph Forte – John Ebeling (JEMsports)
  • Brendan Haywood – Andy Miller (ASM Sports)
  • Shammond Williams – Rade Filipovich (BDA Sports)
  • Vince Carter – Kurt Schoeppler
  • Antawn Jamison – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
  • Rasheed Wallace – Bill Strickland (Lagardere Unlimited)
  • Jerry Stackhouse – Jeff Schwartz (Excel Sports Management)

The list could have gone on and on.  Arn Tellem and WMG seem to be just as entrenched at North Carolina as they are at local rival Duke.  However, there is no one agent or agency that dominates this school.  BDA also seems to have had a strong presence over the years.  But look at the first seven players listed, which are the last seven to be drafted out of UNC.  Each one of them has signed with a different agency.  It would be tough to say that Roy Williams promotes any particular agent to his players.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.