UNC Recruiting: Roy Williams, Tar Heels in the lead for five-star center?

Tar Heels looking to make a big splash in the class of 2019

The University of North Carolina men’s basketball program is coming off its highest-rated recruiting class since 2012 when the Tar Heels brought in a four-man class led by Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson. And it’s the first time that the Tar Heels have reeled in multiple five-star players since Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson committed to North Carolina in 2014.

Fans are understandably excited about the Tar Heels’ 2018 freshman class, largely in part to the commitments of five-star prospects Nassir Little and Coby White. Both are intelligent, dynamic players in their own respect. Also in the fold this year is four-star point guard Rechon Black, an extraordinary passer with uncanny size for his position.

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Not only do these three players make up a top-10 nationally ranked recruiting class, but they also represent a new era of North Carolina basketball. Or, perhaps, a renaissance of sorts.

Throughout the university’s lengthy and greatly publicized ordeal with the NCAA and its investigation regarding “paper classes”, Roy Williams and the Tar Heels saw a multitude of big name recruits commit to other programs. Despite the fact that UNC was often included in said recruits’ final lists, the Tar Heels seemed to miss out on their most sought after prospects each season.

Now, though, the Tar Heels seem to have stabilized themselves on a level playing field with the rest of college basketball’s elites. And that has given credence to fans’ hopes of seeing top-tier recruits end up in Chapel Hill, just as they did in the not-so-distant past.

One of those recruits is Armando Bacot, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center out of Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia.

Bacot is one of the top front court players in the class of 2019 thanks to his tremendous size, skill and athleticism. He plays both the power forward and center positions, but will provide a lot of upside for any team at either position. He’s holding nearly three-dozen scholarship offers already, making his college options virtually limitless.

With offers from Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA, Villanova and Virginia, it appears as if Bacot’s recruitment will likely involve most of the usual suspects.

But maybe North Carolina fans have something to be excited about, given the recent swing of the pendulum in Bacot’s recruitment.

Williams has recruited Bacot tirelessly, taking multiple trips to see him play over the course of the last five months. The talented big man returned the favor, making unofficial visits to Chapel Hill during the season to watch the Tar Heels play games against NC State and Duke.

And it looks like all of that interaction has potentially put the Tar Heels in the driver’s seat to sign Bacot. The four most recent predictions on 247Sports, including two from Duke writers and one from recruiting expert Jerry Meyer, now have Bacot favoring North Carolina.

Sure, a lot can happen between now and the time that he commits. But UNC fans are used to seeing the numbers go the opposite direction in recent years, particularly when it involves Duke.

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It would be a huge get for Williams and the Tar Heels, and a great foundation for which to build their 2019 recruiting class. No doubt the Hall-of-Fame coach would like to load up on talented bigs rather than continue playing with small lineups composed of undersized power forwards primarily playing out of position.

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