UNC Recruiting: Tar Heel Stimulus Package
What’s up Tar Heel nation? After fun weeks of holidays a lot has happened on the recruiting trail. In football a lot of the high school all-star games were played and two Tar Heels participated in their respected games. Defensive tackle Greg Webb played in the Army All-American game while wide receiver Ryan Switzer played in the Semper Fidellis game (he caught the game winning catch). Another player who is a possible Tar Heel that was selected to play in the Army All-American game is wide receiver Marquez North. Marquez did not play due to a season ending injury he suffered earlier in the season. Marquez is stuck between UNC, Tennessee, and Clemson somewhere in the midst. I think the Heels have a very good chance to land the strong and fast receiver but look to see him decide on signing day in a month.
Jan 11, 2011; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Harrison Barnes (40) and forward Tyler Zeller (44) and guard Leslie McDonald (2) lead the fast break as North Carolina State Wolfpack forwards Richard Howell (1) and C.J. Leslie (5) defend. The Tar Heels defeated the Wolfpack 84-64 at the Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
While football recruiting signing day is in closing in, basketball signing day is still awhile away. In 2013 Andrew Wiggins is still a top target the Tar Heels are trying to land. Coach Roy Williams and assistant Steve Robinson made the visit to see Huntington play and to keep pushing Wiggins to visit. Fans (Kentucky mainly) and analysts keep giving their opinion on where the young man will end up but no on knows for sure, Not even Wiggins! People believe that Florida State and Kentucky are the only schools in contention for landing the forward but that is because they were the only schools recruiting him for a long time. Now that schools like UNC and Kansas have entered the picture he is interested in visiting and has spoke highly about the programs. Trust me if it was just FSU and UK, he would have decided already. Wiggins can’t visit anywhere till March but the first weekend in March is a big home game against Florida State. A compelling time to visit and see both schools he likes. His recruitment is up in the air and don’t be surprised if he ends up in Carolina blue.
Another big recruit visiting is Joel Berry on the 19th. Berry is the 3rd ranked point guard in the country and he is North Carolina’s to lose. With another guard recruit Shelton Mitchell committing to Wake Forest he must know that Berry is going to pull the trigger soon after the visit. Berry like Britt and Paige is a scoring guard with great leadership and the ability to pass. I am excited to see Berry’s reaction on the visit and his thoughts on the program.
The last two players that have been noticed on the UNC radar are 2014 SG Rashad Vaughn and 2015 SG Malachai Richardson. Both guards have a spectacular shooting ability and an explosiveness to get to the basket. Malachai is still early in the process and has a few offers from smaller schools. Look for his stock to rise in the future and Carolina to offer the young guard. On the other hand Rashad Vaughn is very intriguing to the Heels. Like Wayne Ellington and Rashad McCants, Vaughn can pull the trigger behind the arc also penetrate to the basket and finish around the rim. In the past two visits watching the guard he scored and impressive 51 points in his teams loss and finished 35 points in the second. The second was against number one point guard Tyus Jones Apple Valley team. Rashad said he has been hearing a lot more from the Heels of recent so don’t be surprised if an offer comes. Vaughn’s team already sports the argyle on their uniforms and it is a good look for him! The only other two guard looked at by the Heels is D’Angelo Russell who plans to visit sometime in the near future. Look for more news coming soon!