UNC Basketball: Where do the Tar Heels stand w/ 5-star PF Matthew Hurt?

Recruiting Analyst weighs in on UNC basketball target Matthew Hurt, and where he thinks the 5-star power forward will commit

With less than three weeks of college basketball left to be played this season, a handful of the top prospects in the class of 2019 remain uncommitted.

Of the six remaining 5-star prospects in the class, the North Carolina Tar Heels are heavily involved with three; and have been for quite some time. The class’s top unsigned recruit, Cole Anthony, is down to six schools, but appears to be leaning heavily toward the Tar Heels.

A highly touted and immensely skilled guard, Anthony is a surefire starter for UNC next season when sensational freshman point guard Coby White makes his likely decision to enter the 2019 NBA Draft. Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans recently went as far to say that North Carolina will be the program to receive Anthony’s pledge, and that it’s only a matter of time before he does so.

Two other prospects, Matthew Hurt and Precious Achiuwa, are also top priorities for the Tar Heels in the current recruiting cycle. Unlike Anthony, though, Hurt and Achiuwa — who are ranked No. 8 and No. 13 in the class, respectively — may be far more likely to choose programs not named North Carolina.

It’s no shock that the Tar Heels are trailing the leaders in Achiuwa’s recruitment, given that they began targeting him much later than most of their toughest competition. Since making him a priority, however, it’s noteworthy that they’ve been able to make up as much ground as they have, and be in consideration this late in the game.

Hurt, on the other hand, has been a UNC target — and major priority — for better than two years. Despite it, the Tar Heels look to be behind a pair of blue bloods in the race for Hurt’s commitment, which should be expected some time in the next month or so.

According to Evans, Hurt is still favoring Kansas as his preferred destination in 2019, and looks for the Jayhawks to secure his commitment over Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina.

"“Maybe I am totally off – or I am just stubborn, as I have stuck with my prediction for Hurt since he was a sophomore – but I do believe that, barring anything unforeseen, he ends up in Lawrence,” Evans said. “Now, the confidence meter is not too high, but it should be noted that all of the programs recruiting him also don’t have a tremendous feel for which way he might be leaning. Duke gained some steam a few weeks ago, but I am not buying it just yet. Kentucky and UNC are just as involved, but without a timeline, Hurt committing to any of the four would not be a giant surprise, though I am going to stick with the Jayhawks.”"

It’s also worth noting that Hurt’s Crystal Ball predictions are similar to Evans’ overall thoughts on the state of his recruitment. It’s Duke and Kansas that are heavily favored in Hurt’s recruitment according to 19 votes from analysts and experts on 247Sports.

The Blue Devils have received most of the predictions over the past couple of months, and lead his Crystal Ball with 53 percent of the vote. Kansas is right behind Duke with 42 percent, while Kentucky is pulling in a modest five percent of the vote. North Carolina currently has zero votes.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest news and information on the Hurt recruitment, as well as Cole Anthony updates and everything North Carolina basketball.