UNC Basketball: 5-star target sets official visit, talks recruiting

5-star UNC basketball target sets official visit, discusses recruitment

In the thick of nearly a dozen recruiting battles, it’s hard to say whether or not the North Carolina Tar Heels will sign any of their top targets in the class of 2020. We do have a pretty good idea which prospects are a long shot to sign with the Tar Heels, but there are others whose recruitments are much more difficult to read.

One of those UNC targets that’s kept his recruitment fairly quiet to this point is Jaden Springer, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard that’s ranked No. 13 in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite. A 5-star prospect out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, Springer named a list of five finalists in July that consists of Florida, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Springer had a tremendous junior season at IMG Academy, racking up plenty of individual accolades en route to winning the Geico National High School Championship alongside 5-star UNC freshman center Armando Bacot. But despite being one of the most highly touted amateur players in the nation, we still don’t have a great feel for Springer’s recruitment, or what direction he is leaning, if at all.

What we do know is that the talented senior guard now has an official visit to Michigan scheduled for August 29, the weekend of the Wolverines’ season-opening football game against Middle Tennessee State. Michigan was one of the last teams to reach out to Springer, but first-year head coach Juwan Howard obviously made an impact, given that the Wolverines made it on to Springer’s top-5 list in the eleventh hour.

Springer recently broke down his recruitment with USA Today, discussing his recruitment and each of the five programs remaining on his radar. He had the following to say about the Tar Heels, a team that some believe has the inside track on Springer’s commitment:

"“This was my favorite school to watch growing up,” Springer said of UNC. “They’ve always had a great history and produce a lot of NBA talent. They also have a lot of great players coming in every year so that’s a big school for me.”"

With limited information, Springer’s Crystal Ball currently favors North Carolina unanimously over the other four programs in contention. Just two of the five votes, however, came after the release of his list of finalists.

Springer is the third-ranked shooting guard in the 2020 class, and No. 4 prospect from the state of Florida.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Jaden Springer recruitment, and everything UNC basketball.