UNC Basketball: Is Duke gaining ground on top Tar Heels’ target?

The Duke Blue Devils could be gaining ground on a top UNC Basketball recruiting target in the 2020 class per a recruiting expert

For months now the North Carolina Tar Heels and Stanford Cardinal have been rumored the favorites to land class of five-star forward Ziaire Williams. The California product is one of the top players in the class and has taken visits to both schools so far in his recruitment.

With a need on the wing, Williams has emerged as the top target on UNC’s recruiting board and the Tar Heels have felt good about their chances to land him.

But just a few weeks ago, another Blue Blood decided to get into the race and it could change things in his recruitment.

Duke officially offered Williams on July 24th becoming the latest team to enter the recruitment for the five-star. The offer came to a surprise to most as Duke never really showed interest in Williams up until that point.

As it stands now, you still have to feel good about UNC’s chances with Williams moving forward but one national recruiting analyst thinks the Blue Devils have made up ground and even have a solid shot at landing the recruit. Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans wrote about Williams in his Twitter Tuesday column this week and offered up these thoughts on the recruit’s chances to land at Duke:

"“The Blue Devils need a shot-making guard or wing, which is why they just offered Ziaire Williams and have continued to pursue D.J. Steward,” Evans wrote. “While the thinking is that Steward is a heavy Duke lean, I actually think differently. Sure, the Blue Devils could continue to pick up ground, but I see Steward committing to Louisville…“Williams, on the other hand, was favored heavily by North Carolina and Stanford throughout recent months, but if Duke continues to prioritize, my guess is that he could end up in Durham.”"

Ew. That shouldn’t sound good for UNC fans.

The thing to make note about in Williams’ recruitment is that there appears to be no end in sight for his decision. He will likely drag it out into 2020 which could be good or bad for the Tar Heels.

If Duke continues to show interest and get him on campus, they would have a legit shot at landing him. But on the flip side, if UNC can continue to pursue him hard and get another visit it could turn out to be a Cole Anthony situation.

We have seen this in the past with a pair of recruits in Wendell Moore and Brandon Ingram, both once thought of as ending up at UNC. But after Duke offered and the commitment dragged on, the Blue Devils ended up getting both recruits.

Let’s just hope this situation ends up more like the Anthony one compared to the others.

For more on UNC Basketball recruiting targets, please check back with Keeping It Heel.