UNC Basketball: Recruiting analyst’s thoughts on Bryce Thompson

National recruiting analyst Corey Evans shares his thoughts on 5-star combo guard and UNC basketball target Bryce Thompson

Bryce Thompson is one of the fastest rising high school basketball prospects in the nation, moving up 50 spots in the 247Sports Composite over the last six months. Now, Thompson is ranked 20th in the class of 2020, fourth among players at his position and No. 1 in the state of Oklahoma.

His ascent to 5-star status has brought him a lot more fanfare, and a growing list of scholarship offers from some of the most prestigious college hoops programs in the country. He’s got north of 15 offers to this point, including ones from Arkansas, Colorado, Houston, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M.

And what makes Thompson such an attractive target for so many high-profile basketball programs? Well, he’s got a versatile skill set that most players simply do not have, and very few holes in his game.

Thompson has good size and length for a guard. He’s also a good ball handler with a terrific offensive game that allows him to score from all over the court. He can run the break — something that would be used at North Carolina with regularity — as well as create his own shot off the dribble. He’s also a good distributor, and a consistent threat to knock down shots from beyond the arc.

Thompson plays tenacious defense on the opposite end of the court thanks to his wiry frame and basketball savvy — which should allow him to guard multiple positions at the college level. And given the improvement that he’s shown over the past season, he doesn’t even appear to have reached his full potential yet.

According to Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans, Thompson’s recruitment is still wide open. Evans states that a number of schools are in play, and he doesn’t believe that the top-20 guard is leaning in any particular direction at this time.

"“I don’t think Bryce Thompson is leaning one way or another,” Evans said. “The five-star guard has absolutely blown up this spring but has been unwilling to show his hand for who he might be favoring.Within the past few weeks, Thompson has been on the campuses at Arkansas, Kansas, and North Carolina. The latter two employ coaches that originally coached Thompson’s father at Tulsa during his own playing days and each sit as quality landing spots for him. However, there are many others involved that have just as good of a chance.The Spartans would definitely be a legitimate landing spot and his father’s relationship with MSU’s recruiting coordinator, Doug Wojcik, definitely works in their favor. Oklahoma has been in the mix for a while now and would love to build around him similar to what it did with Trae Young just a few years back. Out of anyone, though, keep an eye on Oklahoma State. A potential Cade Cunningham-Thompson back court would be something else, but it is also one that is not entirely out of grasp.”"

Evans believes that Thompson will look to finish his final travel season before focusing solely on his recruitment. He expects the highly sought-after prospect to cut his list down — my guess would be five or six finalists — and then begin taking official visits. A decision could follow soon after his last visit.

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