UNC Basketball: Tar Heels falling behind in race for five-star?

Is the UNC Basketball program falling behind in the race for this five-star combo guard that some have called a must get?

With a two-man class for the 2021 recruiting class, the UNC Basketball program is hoping to add at least one more player to that class.

Roy Williams and his staff have their eyes set on a few different targets but the goal is to ultimately land a five-star player. While Patrick Baldwin Jr. doesn’t appear to be heading to UNC with the latest rumblings, the Tar Heels best bet might be five-star combo guard Hunter Sallis.

The Nebraska native is a very important recruit right now for the Tar Heels in terms of their best chance to land a five-star. Sallis is ranked as the No. 7 overall recruit, No. 2 combo guard and No. 1 player in the state of Nebraska per 247 Sports.

But while Sallis is UNC’s top target on their board, where do they stand in this race? Many believe this race will come down to two Blue Blood programs in UNC and Kentucky and the latest predictions lean to the Wildcats.

Rivals’ recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy put out his latest article where he ranks the contenders for Sallis. Now this is just Cassidy’s prediction but either way, it’s not good that Kentucky is at the top and UNC is No. 2. Here is what Cassidy said about UNC:

"Roy Williams and company represent the biggest threat to Kentucky. The Tar Heels were seen as the slight leader before The Wildcats entered the mix and still have to like where they sit to some extent, though, maybe not quite as much as they once did. UNC offered back in April, so the bonds in place are strong. Sallis has not visited campus in any capacity, but that shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for UNC nor Kentucky, even if it’s less than ideal. Expect this to be a Calipari-versus-Williams contest with only a small sliver of chance that another school slides in and wins out."

The good news for the Tar Heels is that this recruitment likely isn’t coming to an end anytime soon and should go into the Winter and likely Spring. The longer it goes on, the better chance UNC has despite not being able to get him onto their campus.

UNC is by no means out of this race just because they trail but right now they do have some ground to make up.

For more on UNC Basketball recruiting targets, please check back with Keeping It Heel.