UNC Basketball: Do Tar Heels have a chance for five-star center?

The UNC Basketball program is pursuing this five-star target in the 2021 class but where do they stand with this Top 3 prospect?

With college recruiting in a dead period until at least through August, the future of Fall and Winter sports are in serious jeopardy. For the UNC Basketball program, all they can do right now is build off their 2021 recruiting board which stands at seven offers. Roy Williams and his staff can hold virtual meetings with recruits and contact them under the guidelines from the NCAA but no visits are allowed at all.

So far UNC has one commitment in the 2021 class, landing that from four-star power forward Dontrez Styles back in April. The in-state product is a fringe Top 50 recruit in the class and the hope is that UNC adds at least two more players to this class.

One of the prospects UNC is pursuing is five-star center Chet Holmgren.

The Minnesota native is one of the more unique recruits in a while due to his unique skill set for a seven footer. Holmgren is ranked No. 3 by 247 Sports Composite rankings and could move to the top of that list when the cycle is over.

Just recently Holmgren revealed his Top 7 teams in his recruitment, naming the Tar Heels as well as Gonzaga, Memphis, Georgetown, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State and Georgetown to his list of finalists. But where do the Tar Heels stand in the recruitment? Earlier in the week we wrote on how the Tar Heels could be chasing three teams to land Holmgren and now it seems like another recruiting analyst doesn’t like their chances either.

Rivals recruiting analyst Eric Bossi wrote on Holmgren’s recruitment and who he believes are the top contenders to land the prized recruit. He did list UNC in his article but he has them fifth behind Gonzaga, Ohio State, Georgetown and Minnesota. Here is what Bossi said about the Tar Heels chances:

Another program that uses its bigs extensively, Roy Williams and North Carolina certainly play a style in which Holmgren could thrive. The Tar Heels have turned up their pursuit lately, and their approach and program history appeal to Holmgren. After signing five-stars Day’Ron Sharpe, and Walker Kessler in 2020 and Armando Bacot  in 2019, the Heels have a pretty deep group of big men on campus. One or more of them may need to go pro to create some room for Holmgren. It would help their chances if he does wait until the spring of 2021 to make his pick.

It’s interesting to hear that a reason why Bossi doesn’t like the Tar Heels’ chances is due to their depth in the post. With Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler being a part of the 2020 recruiting class as well as Armando Bacot returning, UNC is stacked in the paint.

However, one of those three could leave after next season with the most likely being Sharpe or Bacot. That would open up at least one spot in the paint for the Tar Heels. But right now, it doesn’t sound great for their chances to land Holmgren.

For more on Holmgren and other UNC Basketball recruits, please check back with Keeping It Heel.