UNC Basketball: This could be the next top-5 recruit to sign with UNC
Could this player be the next top-5 prospect to commit to the UNC basketball program?
Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels have earned two top-5 commitments over the past two recruiting cycles, and they’ve got a chance for a third in the class of 2020.
It was Nassir Little who joined the Tar Heels in 2018, marking the first consensus top-5 signee for the UNC basketball program since Harrison Barnes eight years prior. Cole Anthony committed to North Carolina the following year, making it two in a row. Now, the Tar Heels have a shot at another top-5 prospect, this time in the 2020 class.
Ziaire Williams, a 6-foot-9, 185-pound small forward out of Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California, has risen all the way to No. 5 in the latest 247Sports Composite for the class of 2020. The second-ranked player at his position and third in the state of California, Williams is up nearly 25 spots from where he was positioned this time last year.
But nabbing Williams isn’t going to be easy for the Tar Heels, who will have to beat out both Duke and Stanford — among a host of others — for his commitment. North Carolina and Stanford, the two prohibitive favorites in his recruitment to this point, evenly share 86 percent of the votes in his Crystal Ball. Duke, a program that has come on strong with Williams in recent months, has 14 percent of the vote.
We’ll have a little better feel for Williams’ recruitment once he compiles a list of finalists, and begins taking official visits. It would be shocking if he didn’t include Duke, North Carolina and Stanford in a condensed list of five to seven teams.
Williams’ addition to a UNC recruiting class that already boasts top-20 center Day’Ron Sharpe would be huge, particularly if incoming 5-star freshman Armando Bacot hangs around for his sophomore season in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are also in the running for a number of other big-name prospects in the class of 2020, including top-10 power forwards Greg Brown and Isaiah Todd.
Don't expect these 2020 recruits to sign with UNC. dark. Next
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