UNC Basketball: Who will UNC have to beat out for 5-star PF Isaiah Todd?

These are the teams that North Carolina will have to beat out for 5-star power forward Isaiah Todd

In order to combat the obvious lack of size and experience that’s plagued the Tar Heels’ front court over the past two seasons, Roy Williams and the North Carolina coaching staff put an emphasis on recruiting elite big men in the classes of 2019 and beyond.

Despite signing 5-star center Armando Bacot — who’s expected to come in and make an impact from day one in Chapel Hill — as well as securing a commitment from class of 2020 4-star center Day’Ron Sharpe, the Tar Heels’ search continues.

And really, it has to, what with the ever-changing landscape in college basketball and uncertainty involved in player development or length of time that they’ll remain on campus.

Enter Isaiah Todd, a 6-foot-10, 200-pound power forward who’s already drawing comparisons to Chris Bosh and Kevin Durant. A 5-star prospect from the class of 2020, Todd is known for his seven-foot wingspan and standing reach of 8-feet-11-inches. Couple that with his tremendous quickness and speed in the open court, and he becomes a mismatch nightmare for almost any opponent. Throw in the polished offensive game that he possesses, and Todd immediately separates himself from the pack.

Todd, a junior at Trinity Academy of Raleigh, has already attracted the attention of just about every big name program in the nation. He’s currently holding more than 20 scholarship offers including ones from Kansas, Florida, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Villanova and Wake Forest. Kentucky and Maryland are heavily involved, too, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Duke turn up the heat at some point.

Last week, Todd announced his interest in reclassifying to the 2019 class. Rivals’ recruiting analyst Corey Evans recently touched on that topic, as well as the most likely suitors for the talented big man.

"“I give it a 50-50 chance that Isaiah Todd reclassifies into the 2019 class,” Evans said. “We broke the news last week that the five-star junior was thinking about the move, but a lot would still need to be done for that to occur. The biggest steps would be for Todd to find the right landing spot, and get all of his academic credits in order to be eligible next season.”"

Evans went on to discuss the four schools pushing hardest for Todd, and how reclassifying to the 2019 class could affect his recruitment.

"“Kentucky is now involved with Todd, and while the Wildcats have yet to offer, they could make a major push for him in the coming weeks. With Kentucky struggling to land front court talent this winter it would not be a shock to see Todd become a top target if he decides to move up a year.Maryland, Oklahoma State and North Carolina are the three other programs that are the most involved at the moment. Now that the idea of Todd reclassifying is out in the open, I expect many other programs to jump into the picture with an offer of their own. In the meantime, look for Todd and his family to continue to kick the tires on jumping into the 2019 class.”"

Although North Carolina has been considered by some to be an early favorite in the Todd recruitment, many have tempered those expectations since hearing news of his potential reclassification. A move up to the 2019 class seems much more likely to positively impact John Calipari and the Wildcats than it would North Carolina or any of his other possible suitors.

Todd is the No. 13 prospect in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s the No. 2 power forward in the class, and the top player from the state of Virginia.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Todd, and everything North Carolina recruiting.