UNC Basketball: Ziaire Williams to UNC? Not so fast, says one analyst.

Is the UNC basketball program out of the Ziaire Williams sweepstakes? One national recruiting analyst seems to think so.

Keeping It Heel recently wrote that the North Carolina basketball program still has a shot to nab class of 2020 prospect Ziaire Williams. And while we don’t believe that the Tar Heels’ chances in the Williams sweepstakes are anywhere near favorable, our assertion hasn’t changed.

National recruiting analyst Evan Daniels, on the other hand, seems to have all but counted the Tar Heels out at this point. Evans is of a mind that Williams is unlikely to make a commitment that takes him too far from his home town of Chatsworth, California.

Williams has long been recruited by a handful of Pac-12 schools that have great basketball tradition, beautiful geography or both. And two of college basketball’s blue bloods. Several months ago, Williams named a list of finalists that includes Arizona, Duke, North Carolina, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA and USC.

It was recently believed that Williams had eliminated both Duke and Stanford, but it appears as if they are still included among the teams he’s considering. And while the Blue Devils are widely considered to be on the outs with Williams, the Cardinal look to be positioned quite well with the top-5 recruit.

"“This is a great question, and one that I don’t have an answer to,” Evans writes in response to a weekly mailbag question about Williams’ likely destination. “In fact, I don’t think anyone does, because I don’t think Ziaire knows what he’s going to do yet. Williams said this at the Hoophall Classic: “My mind is all over the place so when the time comes I will let everyone know.” Williams said he has the same top seven schools, but it’s reasonable to question how involved UNC, Oregon, UCLA and Duke (they aren’t) are. Which leaves Arizona, USC and Stanford. Regardless, Williams isn’t in a hurry, and he noted that his mind is all over the place.”"

There’s no doubt that the aforementioned trio of teams are likely in a better position with Williams than UNC. Perhaps the biggest obstacle for the Tar Heels is the lack of open scholarships that they currently have to offer. The longer that his recruitment draws out, though, the better it is for the North Carolina, who could potentially free up roster space by season’s end.

The 6-foot-7, 175-pound senior from Sierra Canyon High School is ranked No. 5 in the class of 2020 according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s first among players at his position, and third in the state of California.

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