Keeping It Heel
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UNC Recruiting: Tar Heels’ 2019 class could look a lot like this

By Blake Cockrum

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on from the sideline against the Lipscomb Bisons during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on from the sideline against the Lipscomb Bisons during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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SPRINGFIELD, MA – JANUARY 15: Vernon Carey Jr. #22 of University School dribbles in a game against Oak Hill Academy during the 2018 Spalding Hoophall Classic at Blake Arena at Springfield College on January 15, 2018 in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
SPRINGFIELD, MA – JANUARY 15: Vernon Carey Jr. #22 of University School dribbles in a game against Oak Hill Academy during the 2018 Spalding Hoophall Classic at Blake Arena at Springfield College on January 15, 2018 in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Vernon Carey

Vernon Carey is one of three players in the 2019 class to have separated himself from the pack. The other two, James Wiseman and Charles Bassey, appear to be squarely out of reach for Roy Williams and the Tar Heels.

Wiseman holds a scholarship offer from North Carolina, but Kentucky and Memphis are the clear front-runners in his recruitment. Kentucky head coach John Calipari has really prioritized Wiseman this recruiting cycle, and first-year Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway has made a strong push to nab the No. 1 player in the class.

North Carolina isn’t even recruiting Bassey, who has long been seen as a strong Western Kentucky lean. A number of other programs have shown interest in the talented big man, but the interest seems pretty one-sided. Louisville appears to be the only other school in the race for Bassey, a 6-foot-10-inch native of Nigeria, who’s currently living and playing basketball in Louisville, Kentucky.

That leaves Carey, the No. 2 prospect in the class of 2019 according to the 247Sports Composite, as the jewel in the Tar Heels’ crown. And that’s not a bad thing.

Carey is a 6-foot-9, 245-pound power forward out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida who may be the most physically imposing player in the class. He’s got the combination of size and skill that the Tar Heels have been searching for in recent years, but missing out on thanks to programs like Duke and Kentucky.

The absence of a player like Carey on this year’s North Carolina team proved to be costly in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels struggled against a bigger, stronger Texas A&M team that repeatedly capitalized on its size advantage in the post.

Carey recently announced his five finalists, and North Carolina made the cut. It was great news for Roy Williams and company, considering the amount of time he and his coaching staff have put into this particular recruitment.

And while all of that sounds great, there is some bad news that has become all too familiar for North Carolina fans:

The Duke Blue Devils are also in the hunt for Carey, and appear to be in a pretty good position to land the elite big man. They, too, were one of Carey’s five finalists, along with Kentucky, Miami and Michigan State.

Given Duke’s current position with Carey and its recruiting pedigree in recent years, including signing three of the top five players in the 2018 class, it’s reasonable to think that the talented big man may end up in Durham.

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