North Carolina freshman guard Coby White announced Wednesday he is entering the 2019 NBA draft.

He broke the news via Twitter:

North Carolina coach Roy Williams issued a statement following White's decision, per Carolina Basketball:

"I just loved every minute of coaching Coby. He committed to us prior to his junior year, so even though he played one season as a Tar Heel, we've known his family for a long time. It's been an honor to have gotten to know them.

"His father told me he wanted his son to play for me, which is one of the neatest compliments I've ever been given. Coby not only played for our team and for himself, he played to make his father proud, and he certainly has accomplished that."

White was an important player for the talented Tar Heels in the 2018-19 season, averaging 16.1 points, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 35.3 from three.

He's a natural scorer, with range to the perimeter and the speed to push play in transition, all while being ideal size (6'5" and 185 pounds) at the point guard position.

College coaches also rave about White. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie spoke to 10 college coaches about him in February, and all 10 were extremely high on him, praising his ability to score, his speed and the improvements he's made as a point guard in North Carolina's system.

"He's got great size. He's fast. He's athletic. He's getting better," one coach said. "He makes bad decisions. But I don't think it's a product of not knowing what he's doing, I think it's a product of him being a freshman playing in the ACC. I really like him. I would take him in the top-15."

And Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman noted in early March that "White's lack of explosion shows up inside the arc, but between his shot-making and pick-and-roll passing ... he offers offensive versatility."

As for his ideal role in the NBA, Vecenie noted that White "would fit best playing with a big distributor in the mold of a Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler or LeBron James."

Vecenie added: "He's an elite level shooter directly off the catch, and his skill set right now is better suited to being a lead ball-handler in transition and a secondary one in the half-court."

He may be best-suited as a combo guard in the NBA, perhaps in the mold of a Jamal Murray. That makes him a likely lottery selection, and one with plenty of potential—especially if he lands in the right situation.