UNC Basketball: Recruiting experts say this 2019 prospect won’t pick UNC

Insights from national recruiting analysts say that this 5-star prospect wont be joining the UNC basketball program in 2019

Despite a strong push from Roy Williams and the North Carolina coaching staff in recent months, it’s looking like 5-star class of 2019 prospect Precious Achiuwa might be leaning in a different direction.

The Tar Heels have been fervently pursuing the 6-foot-9, 215-pound small forward for some time now, but it appears as if it might be too little, too late for the team looking to fill some of the many holes left from the mass exodus it experienced after a lopsided Sweet 16 loss to Auburn three weeks ago.

In a piece published on Wednesday, Rivals recruiting analysts Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Dan McDonald touched on several of the remaining uncommitted prospects in the class of 2019, including UNC targets Cole Anthony, Matthew Hurt and Precious Achiuwa.

While Anthony is believed to be a surefire Tar Heel, and Hurt is almost universally expected to choose Duke at this point, there is quite a bit of dissension as it relates to the Achiuwa recruitment. There seems to be very little consistency in predictions from one recruiting outlet to the next, or even among analysts working for the same company.

That can be seen in the projections made by the trio of Rivals analysts, where Bossi and McDonald believe Achiuwa will pick Kansas, and Evans thinks Memphis gets his commitment.

"“Achiuwa just wrapped up an official visit to Memphis, and has also taken recent trips to Kansas and North Carolina. UConn, Georgia and others are also involved.”"

As they alluded to, a number of programs are still involved with the senior from Montverde, Florida, but it’s Kansas and Memphis who have been getting a lot of the buzz in recent weeks. Still, though, there are others who believe that Connecticut is still a major player in his recruitment. And although North Carolina is believed by many to be trailing the aforementioned programs, the Tar Heels are still thought of as a possible dark horse to nab his pledge in the 11th hour.

Achiuwa appears to be a ways away from making a final decision, taking his time to go through the process thoroughly and evaluate all of his options. I’d expect him to be one of the final prospects in the class to announce his college destination.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Precious Achiuwa recruitment, and everything North Carolina basketball.