UNC Basketball: Is it a 3-team race for 5-star 2020 target?

Where does the UNC Basketball program stand with this five-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class? It appears to be a three-team race

While Roy Williams and the rest of college basketball wait out this recruiting dead period until at least Mid-April, there are still some storylines to monitor.

For the North Carolina Tar Heels, they are coming off a very disappointing season in which they finished tied for dead last in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And while there was no NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels weren’t going anyway.

But it appears as if brighter days are ahead for the program starting in 2020 with their impressive recruiting class that is currently ranked No. 3 overall.

UNC will welcome in a 2020 class that is highlighted by five-star recruits Caleb Love, Walker Kessler, Day’Ron Sharpe as well as four-star recruits R.J. Davis and Donovan Johnson. The Tar Heels would love to add to that class but would need to free up at least one more scholarship.

We wrote earlier in the week about UNC still recruiting four-star guard Kerwin Walton but they have another big target on their board in five-star forward Ziaire Williams. The West Coast product has had a quiet recruitment of late and is expected to make his decision this Spring potentially at the end of April.

However, it doesn’t sound good for UNC who were once thought of as the leaders for the prized recruit. Instead, it appears as if it’s a three team race according to recruiting analyst Corey Evans.

The Rivals reporter wrote about Williams in his Twitter Tuesday column as he was asked about the recruit and where his recruitment currently stands. Evans said that Williams remains a priority for UNC but it appears to be down to three teams on the West Coast:

"While five-star Ziaire Williams has never announced a final list of programs he is considering, he has remained a priority for Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, Stanford, USC and UCLA. We can continue to guess where he might land but the feeling is that it is more of a three-team battle between Arizona, Stanford and USC.The Trojans had been the talk back in the fall and while they are still heavily involved in Williams’ recruitment, Arizona took over as the presumptive landing spot throughout the winter months."

The Tar Heels have a big need on the wing and adding a player like Williams would help fit that void next season. As mentioned above, they would have to figure out an open scholarship to add Williams which may not be as difficult as many think.

But as it stands now, it doesn’t appear as if UNC is in good shape to land him.

For more on UNC Basketball recruiting, please check back with Keeping It Heel.