UNC Basketball: Rumor of package deal bad news for Tar Heels?

There is a rumor of a package deal for two five-star recruits and it wouldn’t be good news for the UNC Basketball program

With a top 3 class for the 2020 recruiting cycle, the North Carolina Tar Heels are turning their attention to the 2021 class in hopes of repeating that success.

Roy Williams and his staff have just one commitment in the class, landing four-star forward Dontrez Styles back in April. But they do have seven offers out to other recruits in the class. 

Among them is five-star point guard and Tennessee native Kennedy Chandler.

The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Chandler has a total of 27 offers in his recruitment and has recently trimmed his list down to five schools and included the Tar Heels. But where does he stand with those five programs?

Chandler hasn’t revealed much in his recruitment due to the dead period imposed by the NCAA though at least August. But a fellow five-star recruit, Paolo Banchero, mentioned something interesting about a potential package deal and that’s not good news for the Tar Heels.

In his latest Sports Illustrated blog, Banchero mentioned that he has talked to Chandler about teaming up at a school:

"Me and my guy Kennedy Chandler have had talks about maybe teaming up in college. That’s my boy and it all depends on how we’re feeling in the end. We want the best for each other, so maybe that can be together. If it’s not, we’re gonna do what’s best for us individually.There’s a good chance that it could happen, but we’ll have to wait and see."

Banchero is down to Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Washington and Arizona, as he cut UNC from his list a few weeks back. Chandler is down to UNC, Duke, Memphis, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

As you can see, the only common schools shared between the two teams are Duke, Kentucky and Tennessee which could make it a three-team race for the duo. Let’s hope that’s not the case and that they both don’t end up at Duke.

Keep in mind, this is Banchero saying that it’s at least a thought right now but usually package deals aren’t as popular as we think.

For more on Chandler and other UNC Basketball recruiting targets, please check back with Keeping It Heel.