Bulls fans need to watch this North Carolina NBA Draft prospect in Elite 8

The North Carolina Tar Heels advanced to the Elite 8, giving the Chicago Bulls another look at a draft prospect.

The No. 8 overall seed North Carolina Tar Heels have taken down the No. 1 seed Baylor Bulldogs and No. 4 seed UCLA Bruins and are now set to take on this year’s Cinderella story the No. 15 seed St. Peters Peacocks on Sunday in the Elite 8.

The matchup isn’t expected to feature potential lottery picks or even multiple first-rounders. Both teams have guys who are playing their way onto draft big boards, and UNC has a player that the Chicago Bulls definitely need to look out for.

With the Bulls struggling to defend the perimeter without Lonzo Ball, they will likely look to beef up their wing defense in the offseason. That could come in the form of grabbing a vet in free agency, making a trade, or drafting a long wing defender. The latter is the cheapest option and, with the Bulls’ current cap space coupled with Zach LaVine’s impending free agency, the front office has to keep the budget in mind.

North Carolina’s Rachon “Leaky” Black is the do-everything wing the Bulls could grab for that role.

Bulls fans need to watch North Carolina’s Leaky Black in the Elite 8.

Most known for his defensive wizardry, Black has been the most valuable floor raiser on North Carolina during this run. UNC doesn’t have problem scoring, just like the Bulls. They have problems keeping good guards at bay. Black solves that problem when he’s on the floor — a solution the Bulls haven’t found in the month of March.

The biggest question about Black will be his shooting ability. Currently, he shoots 36% from the college 3-point line and 48% from the field overall. He’s an 83% free throw shooter, which indicates the stroke is there. With NBA development and veteran guidance, those numbers and range will likely get better.

Against UCLA, he took on the challenge of defending Bruins’ guard Johnny Juzang in the first half and then Jaime Jaquez in the second. He threw both off of their games, and forced Jaquez into three wild shots in the final 30 seconds to seal the game for the Tar Heels.

Black is 6-foot-8 with great hands and lateral quickness. He’s able to hold his own on switches involving bigs and can lock up positions one through three. In today’s small ball era, that’s the perfect height and visibility for a defensive stopper.

What makes him an interesting Bulls prospect is his ability to initiate the offense, too. Teams have started to bait the Bulls’ star guards into traps on their drives from the initial play. The other Chicago guards who facilitate well enough to set the stars up are inadequate defenders. On the other hand, the better defenders can’t facilitate. This conundrum has led the Bulls to their worst stretch of play all year. With Ball’s health uncertainty, the Bulls need some sort of insurance for a lengthy defender to pair with their stars in crucial moments.

Black is that player. He will need the full training camp (and then some) to develop into a productive role player, but he has the natural tools to be that for the Bulls.

The Tar Heels take on St. Peters at 4:05 PM CST on CBS, so be sure to tune in and get familiar with a potential Bulls’ draft prospect.