UNC Basketball: Tar Heels reach out to 2021 five-star PF

The UNC Basketball program has contacted one of the top players in the 2021 recruiting class according to a report

Class of 2021 power forward Paolo Banchero is one of the best players in the class and continues to get better as the recruiting cycle rolls on. The Seattle, Washington native plays his high school ball at O Dea High School and is quickly making a name for himself in the recruiting circuit.

As it stands now, Banchero is ranked as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 247 Sports Composite rankings and is currently listed as a five-star recruit. With his solid play, Banchero has picked up a total of 7 offers so far in his recruitment.

But the big thing for the power forward is that some of the blue bloods and bigger programs are starting to take notice.

With the contact period open for the 2021 recruiting class, Banchero heard from both North Carolina and Duke on Saturday as Tar Heel Illustrated’s Clint Jackson reported:

They weren’t the only ones contacting Banchero, either.

The recruit is coming off of a big performance in the NBA Top 100 camp that took place last week, being named the MVP of the entire camp. That’s a pretty big achievement as the event was filled with the best recruits in the country.

Following that camp performance, Andrew Slater of The Athletic reported that several teams including UNC and Duke contacted Banchero:

https://twitter.com/Andrew__Slater/status/1140033242768297985

That’s a pretty big and impressive list for the recruit as his recruitment will certainly be one to watch as the cycle continues. As it stands now, UNC has yet to offer Banchero but with Roy Williams and the Tar Heels showing interest, that should likely change over time.

The Tar Heels currently have five-star Day’Ron Sharpe verbally committed to their 2020 class and are in pursuit of some other top recruits. The next two classes will be critical for the Tar Heels’ future as five-star guard Cole Anthony is likely to be a one-and-done after 2019-20 and four-star center Armando Bacot could be here for just two seasons.

Banchero is the second recruit that is reported to have been contacted by the Tar Heels in this period for the 2021 class. The other was center Chet Holmgren out of Minnesota.