Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: 10 recruits UNC fans wish the Tar Heels had signed

By Blake Cockrum

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 19, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center on January 19, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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STILLWATER, OK – SEPTEMBER 29: Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder walks the Texas Longhorns sidelines during the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on September 29, 2012 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Texas defeated Oklahoma State 41-36. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

Kevin Durant

“I wanted to go to Carolina,” Kevin Durant said in an April interview with the Player’s Tribune.

Imagine that. Conservatively a top-5 player in the NBA right now — with potential to be top-10 ever by the time he’s done — Durant wanted to go to North Carolina for his one season of college basketball.

He cited Ty Lawson’s commitment to North Carolina as one of the reasons that he wanted to go there. He and Lawson had been teammates, roommates and close friends at Oak Hill Academy for a few years at that point. And the Tar Heels were fresh off their 2005 national title run, making a statement to the entire nation that UNC basketball was back on the map. It all made North Carolina look like an attractive and likely destination for Durant.

Only, it never came to fruition.

There are a number of reasons why it didn’t, but probably none more than the fact that Durant feared he wouldn’t get the amount of playing time he desired at North Carolina. The Tar Heels had a star-studded class — one that was already ranked No. 1 in the nation — with multiple forwards that would, no doubt, make for a crowded and competitive front court.

One forward, in particular, that posed a threat to Durant’s potential playing time was fellow 5-star big man Brandan Wright. Like Durant, Wright was a consensus top-5 prospect, and a player that would demand a considerable amount of minutes as a freshman. Had it not been for Wright committing to UNC when he did, Durant might have accepted the Tar Heels’ scholarship offer.

Durant and the Longhorns won just 25 games that season, finishing third in the Big 12 and earning a No. 4 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. They lost in blowout fashion to USC in the second round, while North Carolina went on to win 31 games in route to an ACC regular season title, ACC Tournament title and an appearance in the Elite 8.

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