Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels need to sign 2 of these 5 players in 2019 class

By Blake Cockrum

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 24: (L-R) Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greets head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels prior to coaching against each other during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 24, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 24: (L-R) Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greets head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels prior to coaching against each other during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 24, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

Matthew Hurt

It was nearly two years ago that Roy Williams offered a scholarship to five-star power forward Matthew Hurt. The Tar Heels have been hot on Hurt’s trail ever since, tabbing him as one of their top targets in the class of 2019.

Prioritizing Hurt made sense, what with the tremendous and versatile skill set that the 6-foot-9, 199-pound power forward possesses. A senior at John Marshall Senior in Rochester, Minnesota, Hurt has just about every big name program in the country after him.

He put together a terrific performance at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship last month when he averaged the fourth-most points on the team over the six-game tournament, scoring nearly 15 per game. He led the team in three-point shooting and blocked shots, and was second in rebounding and overall shooting percentage.

Adding Hurt to the Tar Heels’ 2019 roster would be huge, but it may be easier said than done according to most of the speculation surrounding his recruitment.

Despite insisting that his recruitment is wide open, there’s a growing consensus that Hurt will end up at the University of Kansas next year. He’s been linked to the Jayhawks more than any other program over the past several months, and his growing relationship and familiarity with Kansas head coach Bill Self will likely have an impact on his final decision.

Matthew Hurt insists his recruitment is wide open. light. Related Story

Now with an overwhelming 77 percent of votes, Kansas leads Minnesota (15 percent) in the 247Sports Crystal Ball. An additional eight percent of voters have a cloudy outlook on Hurt’s recruitment, unsure where the talented big man will eventually land.

Either way, that’s bad news for North Carolina if you put any stock in the opinions of recruiting analysts, scouts and writers. Still, though, there are those who believe that North Carolina still has a good shot at Hurt, and his recruitment isn’t as cut and dried as the projections would lead one to believe.

Hurt is ranked sixth in the class of 2019 according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s the No. 3 power forward prospect in the class, and the top player in the state of Minnesota.

Home/UNC Basketball