UNC Basketball: 5-star recruit’s reclassification could affect Tar Heels

Could a 5-star recruit’s reclassification affect the UNC basketball program?

Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels began checking in on Khristian Lander last summer, and the 5-star prospect has continued to climb up the 247Sports Composite recruiting board ever since.

Lander is a 6-foot-2, 165-pound point guard out of Francis Joseph Reitz School in Evansville, Indiana, and the No. 11 player in the class of 2021. He’s the No. 1-ranked prospect among players at his position, and tops in the state of Indiana. He’s holding better than a dozen scholarship offers, including ones from Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan and Ohio State, among others. He’s also gotten attention from the likes of Kentucky, Maryland, Texas, UCLA and Xavier.

There’s speculation however, that Lander may not even make it until the fall of 2021 before he ends up on a college campus. According to Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans, Lander is considering a reclassification to the class of 2020. If Lander does, in fact, move up to the class of 2020, North Carolina will not be the school for him. The Tar Heels already have commitments from a pair of talented guards in 5-star point guard Caleb Love, and 4-star combo guard R.J. Davis.

"“. . . I probably like Indiana’s chances more with Khristian Lander, but the Hoosiers are definitely potential suitors for Trey Kaufman and Caleb Furst,” Evans writes.“Lander has the chance to reclassify into the 2020 class but, either way, he is a top target of IU’s which has been the case since Archie Miller took over in Bloomington. Others involved include Louisville, Memphis and Michigan. All programs would be more than willing to take him this fall if he decides to enroll a year early.”"

Either way, it appears that North Carolina is far less likely to pick up a commitment from Lander than Indiana, Louisville, Memphis or Michigan. Whether that’s because Lander isn’t interested, or the Tar Heels have simply backed off is up for debate.

The Tar Heels’ primary target at the point guard position in the class of 2021 is Kennedy Chandler. Roy Williams and company will no doubt add to that list during the coming months, given that there’s no certainly that Love or Davis will remain in Chapel Hill after their freshman seasons.

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