UNC Basketball: 5-star SF next in line for scholarship offer from Tar Heels?

Will the UNC basketball program extend its next scholarship offer to a 5-star small forward in the class of 2022?

Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels are still working on a few elite wing prospects in the class of 2021, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting the ball rolling with a couple from the class of 2022.

Among the handful of 2022 prospects that they’ve already extended scholarship offers to are guards Skyy Clark and Jaden Bradley, small forward Mark Mitchell and center Dylan Anderson. With the well-documented struggles that North Carolina has had acquiring elite wings over the past few years, and just one 2022 wing currently holding a UNC offer, Williams has begun building a relationship with 5-star small forward Jarace Walker.

Walker and the Tar Heels have already spoken on a number of occasions, though no offer has been extended to this point. It’s doubtful that the Tar Heels won’t officially offer Walker at some point, though, and my best guess is that it’ll come sooner than later.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Walker immediately stands out among the crowd thanks to his advanced physique and physically imposing presence on the basketball court. Not only that, he’s an incredibly gifted slasher, and attacks the basket well off the dribble. He’s a good ball-handler, and runs the floor well. He’s also an excellent passer — particularly for his position — and possesses terrific court vision and awareness. He’s just as likely to toss a teammate an alley-oop as he is to get inside the paint and throw down a resounding dunk. He’s also good at using his size and strength to rebound the basketball, or play pesky, tenacious defense.

Walker also has ties to North Carolina, as he is a former teammate of current UNC sophomore Armando Bacot. Walker was a freshman at IMG Academy when Roy Williams and company signed Bacot to the Tar Heels. Unbeknownst to Walker, Williams already had has eye on Bacot’s budding younger teammate.

Now, the rising junior is one of the hottest targets in the 2022 class, already holding offers from nearly 20 Division I basketball programs. Among them are Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. And by the time his recruitment is wrapping up in a year or so, you can bet that he’ll have offers from just about every high-major program in college hoops.

Walker is currently ranked eighth in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite for 2022. He’s second among small forwards in the class, and No. 3 in the state of Florida.

Check back with Keeping It Heel as we continue to follow the Tar Heels’ interactions with rising junior Jarace Walker, as well as everything UNC basketball.