UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ 2021 recruiting class could look a lot like this

The Tar Heels’ 2021 freshman class might look something like this

Patrick Baldwin, Jr.
Contenders – Duke, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Most likely – Duke
UNC’s chances – Low

Baldwin, by all accounts, looks to be a future Duke basketball player. He’s got the game and the swagger of a Blue Devil, and all of the buzz surrounding his recruitment says he’s Duke-bound. I could be wrong, but I don’t like the Tar Heels’ odds in this one.

Chet Holmgren
Contenders – Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio State
Most likely – Gonzaga, Minnesota
UNC’s chances – Low

Getting Chet Holmgren out of the state of Minnesota and keeping him away from Gonzaga is all the Tar Heels need to do to have a shot at his commitment. Oh, and they need to make sure to beat out the Ohio State Buckeyes, too. Those three programs appear to have a sizable lead on the competition in Holmgren’s recruitment, so things aren’t looking great for the Tar Heels here.

Jabari Smith
Contenders – Auburn, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Tennessee
Most likely – Georgia
UNC’s chances – Low

The Tar Heels didn’t extend Smith a scholarship offer until this past summer, and it appears as if their efforts are going to be too little too late. Just about everyone believes that he’ll end up at an SEC school, and Georgia looks like the team to beat right now.

Caleb Houstan
Contenders – Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Virginia
Most likely – Undecided
UNC’s chances – Low to Medium

I’d be lying if I said I have any clue where Caleb Houstan is going to end up next year. What I do know is that he and the North Carolina coaching staff seem to have built a good relationship to this point. A former teammate of current UNC freshman center Day’Ron Sharpe at Montverde Academy, the Tar Heels got in on the ground floor of Houstan’s recruitment, and that could prove to be a game-changer when all is said and done.

Hunter Sallis
Contenders – Alabama, Auburn, Creighton, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, UCLA
Most likely – Kentucky, North Carolina
UNC’s chances – Medium to high

Hunter Sallis hasn’t said this, but I believe his recruitment could be down to just two schools: Kentucky and North Carolina. I would give the Wildcats better odds to land Sallis, but that doesn’t mean I’m counting the Tar Heels out. A commitment and reclassification to either of these schools from class of 2022 combo guard Skyy Clark would absolutely push Sallis to the other program. There’s also an outside possibility that hometown darling Creighton plays a part in his recruitment, and the same goes for neighboring Kansas. There are a lot of moving parts in this one, and it could be a wild ride to the finish line.

Harrison Ingram
Contenders – Harvard, Howard, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue and Stanford
Most likely – Purdue, Stanford
UNC’s chances – Low

All of the buzz surrounding Ingram’s recruitment revolves around Purdue and Stanford. I think it’s highly unlikely at this point that he commits elsewhere, though stranger things have happened. Still, my money is on the Boilermakers or Cardinal to land the talented wing. I don’t see the Tar Heels playing any part in his final decision.

Trey Kaufman
Contenders – Indiana, Louisville, North Carolina, Purdue, Virginia
Most likely – Indiana, Purdue, North Carolina
UNC’s chances – Medium to high

It’s probably slightly more likely that Kaufman stays in his home state of Indiana, but if he decides to venture out, North Carolina has a really good shot at getting his commitment. If he turns down the hometown Hoosiers, and the in-state Boilermakers, I think it’s North Carolina that has to be seen as the favorite.

D’Marco Dunn
Contenders – Arizona, Louisville, Marquette, North Carolina, Texas, Vanderbilt
Most likely – North Carolina
UNC’s chances – High

At present, Dunn is the most likely of the eight prospects to commit to North Carolina. The Tar Heels have gotten most of the buzz surrounding his recruitment, and he feels like a good fit for Roy Williams and company in Chapel Hill. With the possible early departure of Caleb Love after his freshman season, it’s possible that Dunn could slide right into a starting role with the Tar Heels in 2021. But does his status as a strong UNC lean change if one of the aforementioned guards commits to UNC first?

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Depending on the results of these eight recruitments, it’s possible that Roy Williams and his staff reach out to additional prospects in the 2021 class, or take a look at the graduate transfer market. I’d say the best case scenario for North Carolina at this point is a class that includes D’Marco Dunn, Trey Kaufman and Hunter Sallis to go along with Dontrez Styles. A recruiting class with three 4-star prospects and a 5-star is nothing to scoff at, and it would almost certainly put the Tar Heels in the top-10 nationally.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Tar Heels’ 2021 recruiting class, as well as everything UNC basketball.