UNC Basketball: Will Tar Heels have to battle this school for 5-star?

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: The North Carolina Tar Heels Ram reacts to their 84-66 victory over the Lipscomb Bisons during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: The North Carolina Tar Heels Ram reacts to their 84-66 victory over the Lipscomb Bisons during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Basketball program might be the favorites for this five-star point guard in the 2020 class but they will have to battle this in-state school to land him

The North Carolina Tar Heels need some help on the perimeter in their upcoming basketball recruiting classes. With Anthony Harris and Cole Anthony joining the Tar Heels in 2019, they will be set for the upcoming season.

But after that, there is a glaring need as Anthony will likely head to the NBA after just one year in Chapel Hill.

Head coach Roy Williams and his staff already have one commit in the 2020 recruiting class, landing a verbal from five-star center Day’Ron Sharpe, but they also have offers out for other prospects including some players on the wing. One of those recruits is five-star point guard Caleb Love out of Missouri.

The Midwest product listed the Tar Heels in his final six and will take a visit to Chapel Hill next weekend. UNC appears to be in good shape with the recruit as the race appeared to be down to the Tar Heels and Louisville.

Not so fast, however.

In his three-point play article on Tuesday, Rivals recruiting analyst Eric Bossi wrote on Love’s recruitment and touted in-state Missouri as a team to watch for. Here is what Bossi said:

"Here’s the thing, listing Mizzou is looking to be far more than a favor and based on what I’ve been hearing the last few weeks, Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers are emerging as a very legitimate contender to land Love. Love was in Columbia over the weekend and the early buzz is that Martin and his staff continued to build on the momentum they’ve been gaining.Now, I’m not ready to proclaim the Tigers a favorite over the two that have seemed to be in the best position for a while – North Carolina and Louisville – but I do think it’s time we stop poo-pooing any thought that Love could stay local and play for his home state program."

Love will take a visit to Columbia this weekend, right before he visits UNC and Chapel Hill on September 20th. The Tigers will have their chance to impress the touted in-state recruit potentially bumping their chances.

As for the Tar Heels, they still appear to be one of the favorites and could even be in the driver’s seat going into that visit with Love. He’s a recruit that could sign during the Early Signing Period, which would give UNC two five-star recruits before we hit the 2020 calendar year.

For more on Love and other UNC Basketball recruiting targets, please check back with Keeping it Heel.