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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels showing interest in 2020 center

By Zack Pearson

CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 20: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 20: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Basketball program has checked in on a 2020 five-star center, showing some interest early on. But where do they stand with him?

Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program received their first commit in the 2020 recruiting class a week ago when power forward Day’Ron Sharpe offered his verbal.

Sharpe is a Top 100 player in the 2020 class according to the 247 Sports rankings and has UNC off to a great start in the recruiting cycle. With Williams showing interest in several 2020 players over the past few weeks, he’s added another name to the list.

According to Dan McDonald of Rivals, the Tar Heels have called and checked in on 2020 center Walker Kessler. The 7-foot center out of Georgia is just the latest big man UNC has shown interest in for the class.

Kessler is ranked No. 31 in the ESPN Top 60 and No. 29 in the 247 Sports rankings. The Tar Heels have yet to offer Kessler but with interest already being shown, an offer could come later on down the road.

As of now, it’s early in his recruitment but the Georgia Bulldogs appear to be the team to beat for the center. He has a strong connection with the Bulldogs as his father Chad, brother Houston and late uncle Alec all played for Georgia.

McDonald caught up with Kessler following the NBA Top 100 camp and noted that Georgia might not be the lock that everyone thinks they are for the center.

Other teams that have shown significant interest are Stanford, Michigan, Vanderbilt and Xavier.

For UNC, they are looking to add more pieces in the paint for future classes. With the departures of Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks and Tony Bradley Jr., they struggled in the post last season. They brought in three big men in their 2017 class but didn’t have one signed in 2018. As of now, their only 2019 recruit signed is point guard Jeremiah Francis.

Pairing Sharpe with another dominant big man is ideal. Williams can go back to having a team that has very good guards and strong post play, dominating the boards and getting out into transition.

That was a big key to UNC’s runs to back-to-back Final Fours and a national championship.

Next: 5 Early storylines for the Tar Heels in 2018-19

For any more developments on Kessler, please check back with Keeping It Heel.

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