UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ attention now shifts to Hunter Sallis
After losing out on Kennedy Chandler, landing this five-star guard becomes even more important for the Tar Heels’ 2021 recruiting class.
The UNC Basketball program reeled in the second-best recruiting class in 2020 according to 247 Sports. After landing such a highly-touted class, the focus has now fully shifted to the class of 2021.
It’s no secret that the 2021 class is very important to the North Carolina basketball program. However, the recruiting period hasn’t gotten off to a good start for the Tar Heels. On Friday, the Tar Heels received another blow, as they officially found out that Kennedy Chandler was taking his talents to Tennessee. As Chandler’s recruiting process went on, the speculation continuously pointed in the Vols’ favor. The Tar Heels, like the other handful of programs that were still involved, were holding out hope that the No. 1-rated point guard in the class of 2021 would change his mind, and end up at their school.
However, the predictions were right, and Chandler is heading to Tennessee. With that domino out of the way, the next question is: what will the Tar Heels do now? The Tar Heels have been recruiting a handful of prospects. One guard who has drawn a lot of attention from the Tar Heels is Hunter Sallis.
Sallis, a five-star guard from Ohama, Nebraska, ranks as the No. 19 overall prospect in the class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite. He is also considered to be the top prospect in the state of Nebraska.
North Carolina extended a scholarship offer to Sallis back in April, and have been linked to the 6-foot-3 guard ever since. In an interview with Stockrisers , Sallis mentioned that he recently had a Zoom meeting with the Tar Heels’ coaching staff, and expects to cut his list of schools down soon.
His recruiting process has been a bit quiet over the past few weeks, but expect it to pick up in the near future. As it ramps up, the Tar Heels should be right in the center of things. The question remains, though: how likely are the Tar Heels to get a commitment from Sallis?
According to Rivals national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi, the Tar Heels may be considered the favorite for the talented combo guard.
"“There has been some behind-the-scenes speculation that North Carolina is a bit of dream school for Sallis, and word has it that Roy Williams made a big impression on him when he offered a scholarship,” Bossi writes. “Current five-star freshman Caleb Love is a potential one-and-done player, but even if Love sticks around, the Heels need more ball-handlers, and Williams’ best teams through the years have featured interchangeable backcourt parts.”"
The Tar Heels are always looking for ball-handlers, and Sallis could be the next in line to take over at point guard in Chapel Hill. As Bossi mentioned, Caleb Love is a potential “one-and-done” player, which could leave a vacancy for the fourth straight season at the point guard position. If he commits, Sallis could fill the void once he arrives on campus in Chapel Hill, and has the potential to make a major impact right away.
With only one current commit for the class of 2021, expect the Tar Heels to be very active over the next couple of months. Losing out on Chandler is disappointing, but adding a player like Sallis could definitely help turn the Tar Heels’ recruiting class back in the right direction.
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