UNC Basketball: Tar Heels pushing hard for this 2020 prospect

The UNC basketball program is among those pushing hardest for this 5-star prospect from the class of 2020

With the 2019 recruiting cycle behind them, the North Carolina Tar Heels are working hard to make a splash in the class of 2020.

Those efforts will be assisted by their early pledge from 4-star center Day’Ron Sharpe, the No. 33 overall prospect in the class. The Winterville, North Carolina native — who committed to the Tar Heels in June of 2018 — has been impressive both on the AAU circuit, and as a key player at South Central High School.

But in order to keep up with the Dukes and Kentuckys of the college basketball world, North Carolina will need to add a couple more big names to next year’s recruiting class. The Tar Heels, of course, have their name in the hat for a number of 5-star prospects, including a handful of players in the top 20.

One of those players is Greg Brown, a 6-foot-9, 195-pound power forward from Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas. Brown is the fifth-ranked prospect in the class, first among players at his position and tops in the state of Texas.

The gifted and highly coveted big man has offers from a number of big name programs, but it’s Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, LSU, North Carolina, Texas A&M and UCLA that appear to be at the forefront of his recruitment right now. That doesn’t mean that other schools such as Kentucky, Memphis, Texas and Duke couldn’t sneak in on the action at some point, though.

In a recent interview with Rivals, Brown talked about his recruitment, and some of the programs working hardest for his commitment. Among the teams that Brown listed as most aggressively pursuing him at this time is North Carolina, whom he visited in March.

"“It was a great experience and great game,” Brown said. “Talking to all of the coaches was great and even the players were good. So, everything about it was just great. The culture there is just different. Around Texas, it is like a football state but at UNC, they eat and breathe basketball.”"

Brown told Rivals that he is hoping to cut his list to around seven teams by June or July, and plans to make a decision by the time his senior season begins later this year.

With Brown still being fairly early on in the process, and his recruitment seemingly so wide open, there are currently only three predictions in his Crystal Ball; two votes for Texas and one for Kansas. It’s worth noting, though, that those projections for Brown were from 2017 and 2018, and hold almost no significance at this time. Look for that to change in the coming months as Brown’s recruitment heats up, and his finalists are named.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Greg Brown recruitment, and all things North Carolina basketball.