UNC Basketball: This 5-star phenom won’t commit to North Carolina

UNC basketball program likely to miss out on 5-star prospect, but rival Duke is heavy in the mix.

Will the Tar Heels’ struggles to find elite players at the wing position continue into 2021? It’s certainly beginning to look that way, and the recruitment of 5-star small forward Patrick Baldwin, Jr. will likely do nothing to remedy that.

In fact, the 6-foot-9, 205-pound phenom may not only turn down the Tar Heels, but also commit to their arch rivals just a few miles down Tobacco Road. At least, that’s a big possibility in the mind of Rivals recruiting analyst Eric Bossi, who wrote in his latest Twitter Tuesday piece that the Blue Devils are among the favorites to land Baldwin.

"“. . . Ranked No. 1 nationally, the 6-foot-10 forward at Sussex (Wis.) Hamilton is a highly skilled forward, armed with an elite jump shot who is down to Duke, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia and Wisconsin,” Bossi writes. “As most know, he’s got ties to Northwestern where both of his parents went to school and to Milwaukee where his father is currently the head coach.For much of his recruitment, Baldwin has been closely linked to Duke and there’s no doubt that the Blue Devils are in there deep. If he picks them, it would give them the top two prospects in the senior class and three top-10 prospects. They are certainly right near the top if they aren’t in first place.If not Duke, then the possibility that Baldwin chooses to play for his father can’t be ignored and it isn’t at all out of the realm of possibility. Kentucky, North Carolina and Northwestern are in there as well but I’d be fairly surprised if he were to pick a team other than Duke or Milwaukee.”"

So, while Bossi notes that North Carolina, Kentucky and Northwestern are still in the race for Baldwin, he’s definitely not putting odds on any one of the trio. It’s Duke and Milwaukee that he’s handicapped as the clear frontrunners in Baldwin’s recruitment, and I agree with him wholeheartedly. And although I think it will be a neck and neck battle until a commitment is made, I believe the Blue Devils will win out over Milwaukee, where his father is the head coach.

Baldwin is the No. 1 prospect in the nation per the 247Sports Composite. Rivals ranks him first in the nation, too, though he’s second in both the Top247 and the ESPN100.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Patrick Baldwin, Jr. recruitment, as well as everything UNC basketball.