UNC Basketball Recruiting Tracker
By Matt Hamm
Head spinning from all the offers, decisions, non decisions, transfers, it’s maddening. We’re keeping track of it all right here at Keeping It Heel.
We are entering what should be an exciting time in Tar Heel basketball recruiting. Movement was slow across the board in the months of July and August. But all that means is more prospects will be cutting their lists and making decisions sooner than later and we’re covering all of it here at Keeping It Heel.
The Tar Heels have set their sites on the next two classes 2013 and 2014. This tracker will provide updates on who the Heels are looking at and track each players recruiting journey in the 2013 class, for our latest 2014 tracker click HERE
Roy Williams is aiming for a big haul in the 2013 class. UNC has received commitments from point guard Nate Britt and power forward Isiah Hicks. And he’s hot on the Heels of several top prospect in the country to fill out the class.
Tracker Updated: September 4th
Class of 2013
SF Reggie Cameron 6-7, 215 Four Star Recruit, Jersey City, NJ (UConn, Georgetown, Miami, N.C. State, North Carolina, Seton Hall and Michigan)
Cameron recently released a new top 7 list that included the Tar Heels. All the other teams on his list have offered but Carolina. A pure shooter with a very good stroke and the willingness to fire from anywhere on the court at anytime. He has nice size and a mature body for his age. He runs the floor well and has nice length to disrupt passing lanes. Needs to work on his handle a little bit and one on one defense.
Given the fact that top prospect Jabari Parker will likely drag his decision out and the circus that is the Troy Williams situation, UNC may need to offer Cameron. With Nick King and Wayne Selden eliminating the Tar Heels after never receiving an offer, UNC may be wiser not to wait on this one. Ultimately it will depend on how badly Roy Williams wants a perimeter player in the 2013 class and how confident he is in landing Parker and or Williams.
SF Jabari Parker 6-7, 215 Five Star Recruit Chicago, IL (UK, Stanford, michigan state, Kansas, Florida, Duke, BYU, Georgetown, Depaul, UNC. No order.) Parker’s list is long with 13 schools still with a shot at the top player in the class.
Finding something to criticize is a tough task when breaking down Parkers game. An extremely polished all around player, Parker has the look of a player ready to come in and dominate. Besides being the best player in the class, Parker’s year by year improvement has been marveled by scouts. Since entering HS, Parker has defined his body and appears in great shape, a knock against him as a freshman.
Parker can score and create for others anywhere on the court. He’s extremely explosive and likes to create off the dribble most in the half court. He’s terrific in the open court and likes to get out and run the break.
Parker listed UNC in his top 10 and has tentative plans to decide by November. Parker’s parents have kept media and coaches at a distance. They prohibited coaches from calling or texting their son and shut down his media access for a long period of time after he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. SI called Parker the next LeBron James though some view Andrew Wiggins of Canada as the best prep player in the world.
Parker sat out the majority of the summer with a foot injury, the latest reports say Parker is doing fine and will be more than ready for the start of the season. Rival recently dropped Parker to #2 overall in it’s newest rankings, elevating another Tar Heel target, PF
Julius Randle
to the top spot.
PF Julius Randle 6-9, 225 Five Star Recruit Plano, TX (Texas, Kansas, Baylor, UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Florida, NC State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) At 6-9, 225 you would normally pencil him in as a power forward and move on. His face up game resembles current Tar Heel James Michael McAdoo, his tweener status and three point shooting reminds me of Marvin Williams.
Roy Williams has been recruiting Randle for a long time and has a very close relationship with him. With Isiah Hicks already in the fold, Randle is the next player I see committing to Carolina. Randle played with join Hicks, Nate Britt and Troy Williams June 5-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In an interview with Inside Carolina and spoke fondly of UNC once again. He revealed that he visited Chapel Hill during a break in the season. His coach also gushed about Roy Williams during his interview. Roy Williams continues to push hard for Randle and I’m still personally convinced Randle will be a Tar Heel before the summer is out.
Randle reiterated in comments about his upcoming visits that he could really see himself in Carolina Blue. Randle remains the Tar Heels top target in the 2013 class. The #2 rated prospect was the best player on the USA U-18 team that recently took home gold and he regularly dominated the competition. He’s improved his range and jump shot and has become a much more efficient player with his back to the basket.
Randle recent tweeted his
Texas, Kansas, Baylor, UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Florida, NC State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The list was longer than expected with recent reports and rumors around Randle suggesting that his newest list would be a top five list.
SF Troy Williams Four Star Recruit 6-6, 190 Hampton, VA
Troy Williams is the nephew of AAU legend Boo Williams. For much of his basketball life he’s played with a chip on his shoulder, trying to establish himself outside of being just Boo’s nephew. Williams burst onto the national scene as a sophomore after playing a limited role his freshman season. A great scorer who can create his own shot anywhere on the court whenever he wants. Williams also is great at utilizing his length in the lane to finish at the basket. Very athletic and quick down the floor, paired with his finishing skills make him perfect for North Carolinas high octane offense. Williams is a streaky shooter who has range when his shot is on, he could stand to become a more consistent jump shooter.
Troy Williams has pushed his decision to an unknown date and has added four schools to his list. Carolina is still in the mix along with Kentucky. Williams now says that UK and UNC are no longer in the lead for his services. It is anyone’s guess at this point where Troy will land. Most recently Troy has said that he is very interested in playing with current teammate PG Anthony “Cat” Barber. The two seems very serious in playing with each other, this being yet another factor that could extend Troy’s decision.
Williams now says he plans to make a decision in mid-November, stay tuned. Williams has made his way to Oak Hill Academy where he will play with UNC commit Nate Britt. Williams has tweeted and instagramed about hanging out with Britt a few times already and it’s entirely possible that Troy will become enamored with his new PG and end up in Chapel Hill after all.
SG Keith Frazier 6-5, 180 Five Star Recruit Irving, TX Frazier hasn’t received an official offer from UNC yet. As of late the interest from UNC seems to have cooled.
Frazier is a big time shooter with excellent three point range. His athleticism is also a big time strength, Frazier can create his own shot and is terrific finishing at the basket. Can sometimes settle for too many jump shots, to take his game to the next level he needs to get to the basket more and utilize his athleticism. A decent defender but far from elite, he could stand to bulk up a little bit and work on his fundamentals, especially his lateral footwork on the defensive end.
I personally like the idea of Frazier in Chapel Hill. Frazier still has Carolina on a short list and they have kept in contact with him. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jabari Parker and Troy Williams end up elsewhere and Fraziers phone rings with a UNC offer one day out of the Carolina Blue, if that’s going to happen though UNC may be running out of time.
Fellow perimeter stars Nick King and Wayne Selden recently eliminated Carolina, with King committing to Memphis. Those players never received an offer and moved on, Frazier has yet to follow suit. If UNC wants to secure a perimeter player in the 2013 class Roy may be wise to pick up that phone sooner rather than later.
It doesn’t appear as if Frazier will ever get an offer from Carolina. Despite King and Selden being off the market the Heels seem dug in with their offers. They also have shown more recent interest in fellow SF Reggie Cameron.
C Kennedy Meeks 6-9, 275 Four Star Recruit Hyattsville, MD
Meeks was offered by UNC in late April after they watched him at the EYBL event. Like Joel James last season, Meeks is going to have to prove he can drop some weight and keep it off. At 275lbs the concern for Meeks on a team like Carolina would be his stamina. Right now I’m not 100% confident Meeks could play major minutes for Roy Williams. I had the same concerns last AAU season about Joel James and he proved he could get into shape by dropping close to 50 lbs. Meeks doesn’t need to lose quite that much but he certainly needs to drop a few waist sizes.
If he can drop the weight, Meeks could be a monster. A terrific rebounder, he’s great at creating space and taking over his area of the paint. He’s already developed an excellent low post game and his style of play translates well not just to the college level but maybe more so on the pro level. His athleticism and ability to run the floor are severely limited by his weight and wide frame. He looks like a football player on the court.
Meeks recently trimmed his list and has said that UNC is going after him hard. He has looked very good this AAU season and has surprised scouts with his passing skills. He’s working hard on his conditioning and it’s starting to show. Meeks still has a long road ahead and needs to work hard if he’s going to be an impact player at the next level.
Johnathan Williams III
6’8”, 208 lbs. is the #17 ranked player in the nation and #5 power forward. Williams currently has offers from Arkansas, Florida, Memphis, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas with interest from Carolina and Kentucky amongst others.
Williams is a very interesting prospect. Very similar to Randle, the southpaw big can face up like a guard with an exceptional handle. Many have compared Williams versatility to that of Lamar Odom. Williams can initiate the offense as a point forward, comfortable pushing the ball in transition and creating for his teammates in the half court.
Williams’ game is very similar to #2 overall prospect and probable superstar Julius Randle. Although Williams isn’t nearly as polished of a prospect as Randle, he may be even more versatile. But those similarities, along with having three offers to 2013 big men are the main reasons why Williams has yet to receive an offer from UNC.
Carolina has stayed in touch with Williams for a while now and have been in attendance at a couple of his game over the last year or so. Interest is mutual as Williams who does not necessarily have an official list, has mentioned Chapel Hill as a possibility throughout his recruiting process.
Jermaine Lawrence
Roy Williams was in attendance for the Reebok Breakout Challenge that featured Lawrence but has yet to make an offer. Lawrence is rated as a top 20 prospect and a top ten big man in the class of 2013. Lawrence has freakish athleticism and runs the floor almost as well as any big in the class. He looks like a terrific fit for UNCs up-tempo, fast break offense. He possesses tremendous leaping ability and rises to the rim in a hurry. Defensively he plays the passing lanes well and is a very good help defender.
He does a good job of carving out his area in the paint. He needs to put on a little bulk for the next level and refine his post game a little bit. His half court offensive game has exploded over the last year where he has a great shot. With three point range and the touch on his game and ball handling skills he reminds me more of Kevin Durant than a traditional big man and may be better served playing the perimeter than inside the post.
Lawrence is considering offers from: Cincinnati, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kansas St, Louisville, Manhattan, Marquette, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, SMU, St. Johns, Syracuse and UNLV. He has received interest from many other schools who have yet to offer including: Baylor, Indiana, Iowa St, Miami, UNC, UCLA, Virginia and West Virginia.
Marcus Lee
Lee is a 6-9, 220 power forward/center out of Antioch, CA was recently quoted as saying that North Carolina along with several other teams are going hard after him. Lee is a great athlete who can run the floor as well as any big man in the country. He’s overflowing with upside but is very raw right now and isn’t a player you would look to, to make a big impact his freshman season.
With exceptional length to go along with his athleticism he specializes now as a shot blocker and help defender. He reminds me of Brice Johnson a little bit, he needs to develop a post up game, right now, he doesn’t have a go to move with his back to the basket. A terrific finisher who’s a quick riser, could use some strength at the next level.
UNC currently has four offers left to undecided players still considering Chapel Hill. Austin Nichols and Wayne Selden are no longer considering Carolina and Nick King has committed to Memphis. It is also important to note that UNC has offered 2014 forward Noah Vonleh the subject of constant reclassification rumors. They have also expressed interest in, but have yet to offer another candidate to reclassify in Andrew Wiggins.