UNC Basketball: Armando Bacot helps IMG to win at HoopHall

Class of 2019 center Armando Bacot helped power IMG Academy to a win over Oak Hill at the 2019 HoopHall Classic on Sunday

The North Carolina Tar Heels already have five-star center Armando Bacot signed to their 2019 recruiting class along with three-star guard Jeremiah Francis. But head coach Roy Williams and his staff are hoping to add another big recruit to the class to finish it off.

One of the top targets left on their recruiting board happens to be five-star combo guard Cole Anthony, who is a Top 5 player in the 2019 class and has already visited Chapel Hill a few times since the Summer.

The Tar Heels are one of the finalists in Anthony’s recruitment after he trimmed his list down to six back in October. He also happens to be best friends with Bacot, leading many to believe they will play college basketball together.

On Sunday night, while most of the sports world was focused on the NFC and AFC Championships, Bacot and IMG Academy took on Anthony’s Oak Hill Academy in the HoopHall Classic on ESPN.

Leading into the game, the excitement surrounding it would be the number of elite recruits playing in it. But as we got closer, it was revealed that Anthony would sit out with a sprained left ankle.

Still, the game did not disappoint.

IMG was able to pull off a 72-67 victory in the game, led by Arizona commit and former UNC target Josh Green’s 19 points. They got a big second half from Villanova commit Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to seal it in what was the fifth game in day four of the tournament.

Bacot finished the game with 10 points and 4 rebounds, playing in 31 minutes and scoring on 5 of his 7 field goal attempts.

His highlight play came in the third quarter when he drove the lane and dunked it over four-star center Kofi Cockburn:

The center did get into some foul trouble in the second half, limiting really what he could do defensively.

Bacot has really elevated his game in his senior year, earning praise from several recruiting analysts as he’s shown off his skills. While he didn’t stuff the stat sheet on Sunday night, Bacot still turned in an impressive performance.

Even with Anthony out, it was still a fun game to watch and it gave UNC fans the chance to see Bacot on a national stage.

Anthony is planning to make his decision in April as his recruitment will continue through the college and high school basketball seasons. He’s taken two unofficial visits and an official to UNC with many believing it’s down to the Tar Heels and Oregon Ducks.

For more on UNC Basketball recruiting, please check back with Keeping It Heel.