UNC Basketball: Scholarship open? Kerwin Walton, come on down!
With Brandon Huffman gone and a scholarship now open, will the UNC basketball program get a commitment from 4-star shooting guard Kerwin Walton?
On Thursday night, junior power forward Brandon Huffman announced his intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Upon doing so, the Tar Heels will have an open scholarship for the 2020-21 season. The sudden turn of events immediately got North Carolina fans salivating at the opportunity for Roy Williams and company to sign another of their remaining targets in the 2020 recruiting class.
The most likely of those remaining targets to join the North Carolina basketball program next season is Kerwin Walton, a 4-star shooting guard that recently named the Tar Heels to his list of six finalists. North Carolina is joined on that list by Arizona, Creighton, Georgetown, Minnesota and Vanderbilt. Walton trimmed down his list last week despite current recruiting restrictions brought on by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Whether or not Walton plans to make additional visits — or whether he’ll even be able to before recruiting restrictions are lifted by the NCAA — is unknown.
What we do know is that there is an open scholarship at North Carolina if Walton does decide to commit to the Tar Heels. There’s also opportunity for immediate playing time given the lack of health and experience in the Tar Heels’ back court. Incoming freshman guards Caleb Love and R.J. Davis will undoubtedly get their minutes before Walton, but beyond that, anything could happen. With Anthony Harris recovering from an ACL injury, and Jeremiah Francis still a bit of an unknown at this point, Walton could come in and be the Tar Heels’ first back court player off the bench.
Does it hurt Creighton’s chances that the program just got a commitment from Duke transfer Alex O’Connell? Does it hurt North Carolina’s odds now that Arizona is experiencing a mass exodus, and has a multitude of minutes to offer Walton from day one? And does hometown Minnesota or downtrodden Georgetown really have a chance? At this point, we really don’t know, and anyone that tells you otherwise is probably speculating. Walton’s recruitment was really quiet prior to recent events, and even more so now.
Walton is widely considered one of the best pure shooters in his class, and he’s got great size for his position. He can score from all three levels, but is best beyond the three-point line. He’s got decent ball handling skills, and passes well for his position. He drives the lane well, has good court vision, and is a good on-ball defender.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Walton is ranked 97th in the 247Sports Composite. A senior at Hopkins High School, Walton is ranked 17th among players at his position, and No. 5 in the state of Minnesota.
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