UNC Basketball Recruiting: Bigs in 2013, Wings in 2014

North Carolina currently has nine (or ten) offers out between the 2013 and 2014 classes.  Roy Williams has hit the recruiting scene hard and several other prospects without offers are keeping Carolina high on their lists, in anticipation of a call from the Tar Heels.

With the girth of perimeter talent on the 2012 team expected to stay mostly in tact for the 13 campaign, the focus in the 2013 class has been the big men.  UNC lost Tyler Zeller and John Henson to the NBA and given James Michael McAdoo’s status as a potential lottery pick despite his disappointing freshman season, it’s a good bet that he will be long gone from Chapel Hill come 2013.

Roy Williams mission is to stack that class with enough talent in the paint to last at least two seasons.  Isiah Hicks a 6-8, 210 pound power forward from Oxford, NC has already committed, guaranteeing the class at least one five star stud inside.   But Roy isn’t satisfied with just one, the top target in 2013 is the #2 rated prospect in the class, 6-9, 235 pound, don’t call me a power forward Julius Randle.

Randle has been Roy’s top target for a long time and both Julius and his coaches speak highly of Roy and the Carolina program.   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 has expressed a desire to make his college decision before his high school season. But right now he’s just starting the process.

Randle is the top target, but he’s not the only big man Roy has his eyes on.  UNC has extended offers to center Kennedy Meeks and power forward Austin Nichols.  Meeks reminds me a lot of incoming freshman Joel James.  Both struggled with weight throughout their careers, James lost a ridiculous 60 pounds (and counting) and now looks like a chiseled, intimidating presence who could surprise people as a freshman.

Nichols is a skilled big man with a solid mid range jump shot and athleticism. He has excellent footwork and can pass well out of the double team. He needs to put on a lot of weight, at just 205lbs, he’ll get pushed around at the next level. How he performs this AAU season and during his senior year will is key. I see Nichols as a bit of a project coming into college but a very worthwhile one at that.

Originally seen as favored to go to Duke, Nichols father recently came out and listed UNC as one of the five schools showing his son the most attention in the recruiting process. Duke whom Nichols had called his “dream school” early in the process was not listed amongst those schools.

Roy is also keeping a close eye on several other bigs he hasn’t offered including BeeJay Anya, Jermaine Lawrence and Marcus Lee to name a few.  All three players have listed Carolina as having mutual interest and keeping in contact.  Roy typically likes to see a lot of a player before he makes an offer.  This year is a little different with UNC needing numbers inside in the 2013 class and perimeter players for 2014, a lot of outstanding offers are out.  As lists get trimmed and players start choosing schools, don’t be surprised to see one or more of these three receive an offer from UNC.

In the 2014 class the Heels are expected to need to reload on the perimeter after theoretically stocking up inside with big men in 2013.  It’s very early in the process with the 2014 group but already Carolina has made four confirmed offers a point guard and three perimeter players (depending on whatever Noah Vonleh is).

Vonleh, local product Theo Pinson and Justise Winslow have all received offers from Carolina.   Carolina is swinging the bat hard for a perimeter superstar in this class.  Vonleh at 6-8, may end up being a better fit physically for the PF position by the time he enters college.  But given his unique talents and guard like skills, he’s likely to be utilized as a swing player anyway, allowed to utilize his unique mix of size and talent to expose the defense, in other words, it doesn’t matter what position he plays, he can probably cover any hole.

Winslow is the second rated SF in the class and can do it all.  Very explosive to the rim he is an advanced ball handler that gets to the rim in a hurry.  He runs the floor well and can lead the break himself, unique skills for his size with a high basketball IQ.  Winslow is a good fit in Carolina and despite his advanced skills he still has a lot of upside.

Pinson a local product out of Greensboro Pinson is a great talent on the court with a lot of versatility.  An excellent mid range shooter with range, Pinson is a consistent scorer and can fill it up in a variety of ways.  A very good ball handler who can lead the break and create shots for himself and teammates.  Pinson also thrives getting to and attacking the basket.

Just like they are targeting the top bigs in the 2013 class, the Heels are going hard after the top perimeter players in 2014.  And as is the case in 13 with the big men, several perimeter players have mutual interest in Carolina aside from those who have already received offers.

Andrew Wiggins a SG out of Canada may be the best prep player in North America regardless of class has listed UNC in his top five without an official offer.  Justin Jackson is another player with lots of talent that Carolina has kept a close eye on throughout the process.  Jalen Lindsey has gone on record stating that Carolina is his dream school.

Plenty of options in both classes for the biggest priorities on Roy Williams’ list.  Who do you think UNC will end up with?

For a deeper look at each recruiting class, check out our 2013 and 2014 recruiting trackers.

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