UNC Basketball: This 5-star UNC target may be leaning elsewhere

This 5-star UNC basketball target would be a big get for the Tar Heels, but he may be leaning elsewhere

Roy Williams and the North Carolina basketball program have already reeled in their best recruiting class in better than a decade, but they’re not done quite yet.

Despite having pledges from three 5-star recruits in the class of 2020 — Walker Kessler, Day’Ron Sharpe and Caleb Love — and newly-minted 4-star combo guard R.J. Davis, the Tar Heels are still in the running for a handful of top-50 prospects. One of those prospects is consensus 5-star shooting guard Bryce Thompson.

A 6-foot-5, 175-pound senior at Booker T. Washington in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Thompson has a list of seven finalists that includes Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas. According to Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans, though, Thompson may have already eliminated a number of those teams from contention; including the Tar Heels.

"“That is a tough one and I don’t even think that Bryce Thompson knows where he wants to go just yet,” Evans writes. “He will not go to Michigan State, and Arkansas and Texas remain on the outside looking in. North Carolina landing RJ Davis on Monday could change things, but, either way, I don’t see him in Chapel Hill. That leaves a group of three comprised of Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.Thompson has always wanted to attend a basketball-first school, which KU can offer. However, the recent allegations against Bill Self’s program may have thrown a curve ball into his recruitment and make Thompson think twice about picking the Jayhawks. He could be the perfect back court teammate of Cade Cunningham at Oklahoma State, but he also could be intrigued enough to choose the local Sooners program that just helped catapult Trae Young to NBA stardom.I expect a college commitment in the coming weeks, with a signing to be done next month. I will side with Kansas for now but OU is nipping at its heels, and Oklahoma State is not too far behind.”"

Evans obviously feels as if the Tar Heels are now on the outside looking in when it comes to Thompson, and that’s at least partly due to their recent commitment from R.J. Davis. North Carolina’s 2020 roster is definitely getting more crowded, unlike the Jayhawks, Sooners and Cowboys. With far fewer 5-star prospects to fight for time with, it makes sense that Thompson might be more likely to end up at one of those schools, as opposed to North Carolina.

The Tar Heels’ best bet may still be with 6-foot-7-inch, 175-pound Ziaire Williams, a 5-star small forward out of Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California. It won’t be easy, though, as Williams looks to be seriously considering a commitment to Stanford or USC, among others.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Bryce Thompson, Ziaire Williams and everything UNC basketball.