UNC Basketball: 2021 recruits in attendance as Tar Heels rout Hurricanes

Class of 2021 prospects in attendance at the Dean Smith Center on Saturday for UNC basketball’s victory over Miami

While the North Carolina Tar Heels were routing the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon, a pair of 2021 prospects were in attendance at the Dean Smith Center.

Eric van der Heijden and Will Felton, teammates at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, took unofficial visits to Chapel Hill this weekend to see the campus, watch the game and meet with members of the team and coaching staff.

On Saturday, Keeping It Heel spotlighted van der Heijden’s visit with the Tar Heels. The 6-foot-8 small forward — who’s ranked 135th in the Top247 — reportedly enjoyed his trip, specifically noting that the atmosphere at the game was crazy. He’s currently holding seven scholarship offers, including ones from Boston College, East Carolina, George Washington, Old Dominion and Ole Miss.

Felton, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward that isn’t currently ranked by ESPN or 247Sports, is really just starting to get his feel wet in the recruiting process. He does, however, already hold offers from four Division I programs — Appalachian State, Elon, High Point and UNC-Wilmington. He’s visited several area schools in recent months, including NC State, Virginia Tech and Wofford.

After the game, Felton posted pics of his visit with the Tar Heels on his personal Twitter account.

"“It went pretty well, I got to meet a lot of the coaching staff and some of the players,” Felton told HoopSeen’s Justin Byerly. “It was a cool experience, they played well the whole time and Roy and the team’s reaction at the end was a great thing to see.”"

On Friday night, Felton notched a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double in Millbrook’s 80-33 victory over Enloe. In doing so, he reached 964 career points, passing Howard Brown for seventh on the program’s all-time scoring list. Felton, along with van der Heijden, has guided Millbrook to an 18-1 record on the season.

There’s currently no indication of the level of interest that the Tar Heels have in either of the 2021 prospects, or whether or not an offer will be extended in the future. A lot of that will likely have to do with how Roy Williams and the Tar Heels do with their current targets in the class, all of which rank within the top-35.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for any and all updates on Will Felton, Eric van der Heijden, and everything UNC basketball.