UNC Basketball: Roy Williams one of nation’s best recruiters

Roy Williams and the UNC basketball program have brought in some of the nation’s top talent over the past 16 years

Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels have brought in some of the nation’s most talented high school basketball players over the past 16 years. From his first 5-star commit back in 2004, to the three 5-star prospects he signed in the class of 2020, Williams has rarely had a shortage of talent during his time in Chapel Hill.

Even during the prolonged NCAA investigation into paper classes that Williams and the athletic department had to endure for the better part of four years, the Hall-of-Fame head coach managed to reel in a couple of 5-star recruits and a handful of 4-stars, and won a national championship in 2017.

Since Williams and the Tar Heels got clear of the NCAA investigation, it’s been business as usual on the recruiting trail. He’s brought in at least two 5-star players in each of the last three classes, and three in the 2020 class. His recent success in recruiting has been a breath of fresh air for North Carolina fans that had grown tired of seeing the Tar Heels miss on just about every top recruiting target the program had gone after during that four-year span.

In a recent piece, Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans ranked Williams as the fifth-best recruiter in college basketball behind John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self and Sean Miller. Now, keep in mind, this is including that four-year stretch in which each of the aforementioned coaches — and likely everyone else — was using negative recruiting tactics against the Tar Heels to keep UNC targets away from Chapel Hill. If the last few years are any indication, though, Williams would be much higher on the list had it not been for that time span.

"“Even with all of the talk that has surrounded North Carolina and its recruiting downfalls of late, Roy Williams still found his way into the top 5,” Evans said. “Although he failed to land a top-ranked prospect over the past 10 years, and has not seen one of his Tar Heel standouts called first by David Stern or Adam Silver on NBA Draft night, he has enrolled 16 four-stars and 12 five-star prospects in the past 10 years. That talent resulted in six lottery picks, 13 first-round selections and two other second-rounders. Williams’ career in Chapel Hill might be over by the time the next decade rolls around, but he is heading into it the new decade with one of his best classes ever assembled, boasting three five-stars and five top-65 commitments.”"

Still, fifth-place on a list that encompasses all of college basketball is a pretty high honor. Not to mention, the two coaches ranked directly ahead of Williams on the list are facing a number of allegations from the NCAA and FBI regarding investigations into improper benefits, among other things.

With a couple more recruiting classes like the most recent one, Williams will be no worse than third the next time a list like this comes out.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC basketball program.