UNC Basketball: The latest on this Tar Heels’ 2021 target

The latest on a new UNC Basketball recruiting target in the 2021 class as an analyst breaks down where he could be headed when it’s all said and done.

Despite it being a quiet period for all college sports recruiting, Roy Williams and his staff have been busy doing what they can in this recruiting cycle. The quiet period isn’t expected to end until at least Mid-April at the earliest, making for a difficult situation.

Williams and his staff have still done work in terms of recruits and offered class of 2022 recruit Jaden Bradley a few days back. But Bradley wasn’t the only recruit to receive an offer.

Class of 2021 recruit Dontrez Styles also received an offer from Williams and the Tar Heels this week as the program finally made it official. After months of showing interest, the staff gave Styles his offer and are now in pursuit of the 2021 four-star small forward. The in-state recruit could become a priority for the Tar Heels as they hope to land their first commitment in the 2021 class.

But where does UNC stand in the race for Styles, a recruit that has a total of 14 offers? Well, Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans discussed Styles’ recruitment in his latest article released on Thursday afternoon and dished on the recruit and where he could end up:

"On Monday, the four-star forward received an offer from the Tar Heels. A high-major recruitment is nothing new to Styles, but the North Carolina offer has him intrigued.“It’s a great feeling knowing that one of the top coaches in the country believes in you,” he said.However, don’t look for a decision just yet from Styles.“I am just going to keep things open right now and take some visits soon,” he said.I placed a FutureCast selection for Styles to end up at North Carolina, but I don’t see him committing in the near future. While Clemson and NC State have done the best job in recruiting him up until now, it’s rare that an in-state prospect turns down the Heels."

It’s still very early in Styles’ recruitment but those comments are interesting to say the least.

Landing a prediction is good news and if Styles does commit to North Carolina when his recruitment is over, he wouldn’t be the first Kinston product to do so. The Tar Heels have been able to land Jerry Stackhouse and Reggie Bullock out of Kinston over the years but missed on Brandon Ingram. UNC was rumored to be the favorites to land Ingram and if not for the academic allegations against the university, they probably would have landed him.

Styles is ranked as the No. 57 overall recruit and the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina per 247 Sports. With a need on the wing for future classes, Styles can become a very important target for the Tar Heels over time and is certainly worth monitoring.

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