UNC Basketball: 5-star recruit is a ‘must-get’ for Tar Heels

Roy Williams is searching for back court reinforcements as incoming freshman point guard Caleb Love could leave the UNC basketball program after one season.

There’s an overwhelming concern within the North Carolina basketball program that incoming freshman point guard Caleb Love plans to leave Chapel Hill after just one season. If Love does, in fact, take the one-and-done route to the NBA, the Tar Heels could be in an unfavorable position this time next year.

They’d be left with a handful of talented guards, but none the caliber of Love, nor any that are best suited to play the point guard position. Fellow freshman guard R.J. Davis is more of a shooter, while Anthony Harris is a solid defender and all-around player. The Tar Heels wouldn’t look for either to run the point guard position for long stints of time, though. The same could be said for Kerwin Walton, an incoming shooting guard that is more likely to play on the wing than he is to be the team’s primary distributor.

Sure, Leaky Black could handle duties at the point guard position in a pinch, and so could senior reserve K.J. Smith, but those aren’t the guys that Williams and his staff envision handling their high-octane offense next season. That’s why their search for a dynamic floor general in the class of 2021 continues, and has become the position of greatest need for them moving forward.

Enter Hunter Sallis, a 5-star combo guard that appears to be strongly considering a commitment to the Tar Heels, but also has heavy interest from Creighton, Kansas, Kentucky and a handful of others. It’s the Kentucky offer that has most North Carolina fans concerned, as all indications point to the Wildcats ultimately earning a pledge from Sallis.

The team of insiders and analysts at 247Sports recently discussed some “must-get” prospects in the class of 2021, and which teams stand to gain — or lose — the most from their respective decisions. For Eric Bossi, the answer is clear; North Carolina is the program that can least afford to miss on Sallis.

"“I think the answer has got to be Hunter Sallis. Ranked No. 7 in the industry generated 247Sports Composite and No. 6 overall by 247Sports, the five-star point guard from Omaha is the subject of a pretty intense recruiting battle,” Bossi writes. “Officially, Sallis lists 12, but from the looks of it, his recruitment is going to boil down to whether or not he wants to stay close to home and go to hometown Creighton or nearby Iowa State, or leave for a blue blood like Kansas, Kentucky or North Carolina. Every team on his list would love to have him, but if they miss the Cyclones (Tyrese Hunter), Jays (Ryan Nembhard) and Wildcats (Nolan Hickman) all have a quality point guard committed so the blow wouldn’t be quite as bad. Kansas is excited about freshman point guard Dajuan Harris, but does need another ball handler and if North Carolina loses five-star freshman Caleb Love after this season then they could be in a real bind. It is close, but because of the danger of Love bouncing for the NBA, Roy Williams and the Heels can probably least afford to miss on Sallis.”"

As Bossi mentioned, Sallis still has a list of a dozen schools, but it seems fairly superfluous at this point. It looks like five or six schools are currently at the heart of his recruitment, with Kentucky and North Carolina in the lead. I expect him to release an updated list at some point, but there’s been no indication yet of when that might happen. And we may have to wait quite a while for a final decision from Sallis, as his recruitment is expected to draw out until some time in the spring.

All of the momentum in this one — including every prediction on 247Sports and a growing percentage of those on Rivals — is favoring John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. For what it’s worth, I think the Tar Heels are following closely behind them, and still have a shot at earning his commitment by the time it’s all said and done.

Sallis is currently ranked seventh in the 247Sports Composite, and No. 6 in the Top247. He’s second among combo guards in the class, and first in the state of Nebraska.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Hunter Sallis recruitment, and everything UNC basketball.