He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who won an NCAA championship in 1982.

[5] He was a member of the Tar Heels' 1982 NCAA championship team that included future Hall of Fame players Michael Jordan and James Worthy.

[8] He arrived in Australia in January 1986,[7] and joined the Bulleen Boomers of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).

[10] In 1988, Exum joined the North Melbourne Giants of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), but was unable to play due to not being naturalized yet.

[11] He enjoyed his best season in 1992, averaging a career-high 17.2 points,[13] 10.5 rebounds, two assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.