UNC Basketball: 2019 recruiting class moves up in rankings

The UNC Basketball 2019 recruiting class has climbed the rankings over the past day or so thanks to two big commits

The North Carolina Tar Heels had a big recruiting day on Tuesday for the 2019 class.

First, five-star combo guard Cole Anthony announced his decision live on TV picking the Tar Heels in his much-anticipated announcement. Anthony is the top guard in the 2019 class and ranked No. 3 overall. He was a must get for the Tar Heels, plain and simple.

Hours later, UNC added to its class again when four-star guard Anthony Harris revealed he was signing with the Tar Heels.

Harris’ decision came just a day after he completed his official visit to UNC and a month after decommitting from Virginia Tech. Both players will give UNC some much-needed depth on the wing and improve this class drastically.

Going into the day, UNC had just five-star center Armando Bacot and three-star point guard Jeremiah Francis signed to their class which was ranked outside of the Top 25. But when it ended, UNC moved up in the rankings.

The additions of Anthony and Harris now give UNC the No. 6 overall recruiting class in 2019, moving them just outside of the Top 5 according to 247 Sports.

UNC also has the No. 2 recruiting class in the Atlantic Coast Conference, behind only Duke who landed Matthew Hurt and Cassius Stanley on Friday and Monday. Duke’s class made a significant jump to No. 1 overall with those recruits.

However, UNC does have top-rated player in the conference with Anthony No. 3 overall. It’s the first time the highest-rated player didn’t commit to Duke since 2011-12 as Bryan Ives pointed out.

For UNC, landing a big class this year was key. They are losing five of their top six players from a year ago, including point guard Coby White. Anthony can slide in and fill White’s spot, while Harris will join the rotation with Seventh Woods, Brandon Robinson, Leaky Black and Jeremiah Francis.

Armando Bacot will also see significant time in the paint, being one of the top bigs on UNC next to Garrison Brooks entering the year.

As it stands now, UNC has a really good class and they may not be done adding to the roster. Five-star forward Precious Achiwua is still uncommitted and has UNC on his list, while graduate transfer Christian Keeling is also considering the Tar Heels.

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