UNC Basketball: Are the Tar Heels more involved with Patrick Baldwin Jr. ?

Is it possible that Roy Williams and the UNC Basketball program can sway the top recruit in the Class of 2021 to Chapel Hill?

Patrick Baldwin Jr., the top high school basketball recruit in the Class of 2021 (according to 247 Sports), has still not committed to a college program.

Although he has not made an official decision, there are some things that we do know already.

For starters, Baldwin Jr. has narrowed his list to 10 schools: Duke, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia, Wisconsin,and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The 6-foot-9, 190 pound small forward has not decided when he will make a final decision, but there is speculation that it could come before the end of the year.

As of now, the 247 Sports Crystal Ball predictions have Baldwin Jr. heading to the ACC, but not to Chapel Hill.

The lead experts currently tab Duke as the favorites to land a commitment from Baldwin Jr. However, could the Tar Heels help sway one of the nation’s top recruits decision?

In a recent interview with Eric Bossi of 247 Sports, Baldwin Jr. opened up about his recruiting process. He discussed six of his 10 finalists in further detail, and here’s what the highly-touted recruit had to say:

"EB: North Carolina, Roy Williams is somebody that your family goes back pretty far with. How much did he recruit your dad out of Leavenworth (Kans.) High?PBJ: He recruited him a lot and then obviously he left for North Carolina after Kansas. But he recruited my dad quite a bit.EB: Has coach Williams been the one handling your recruitment or has it been him and an assistant?PBJ: It is kind of the same thing as Duke where it is Coach Williams and an assistant. They’ve done a great job so far. They’ve actually been one of the more consistently communicating staffs. Coach Williams and Coach (Steve) Robinson have done a great job so far. Even though I can’t visit they’ve been putting me in the practice scenarios, really talking through their roster and the different things they could do. Also, virtual tours on campus has been super special. They’ve done a really good job of filling in everything I’ve missed not being able to take visits."

Coach Williams has a previous history with the Baldwin family. While he was still the coach at the University of Kansas, Williams recruited Baldwin Jr.’s father, Pat. The Leavenworth, Kansas native  grew up less than an hour from the Kansas campus, but ultimately decided to play his collegiate basketball at Northwestern.

Even though Williams didn’t land a commitment from Pat Baldwin Sr., this hasn’t deterred the UNC Basketball program from making a strong run at Baldwin Jr.

According to Baldwin Jr., Williams and assistant coach Steve Robinson have been the two main spearheads in the Tar Heels recruitment of him. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Tar Heels haven’t had the opportunity to allow Baldwin to make an official visit to campus, but the 5-star recruit has been on virtual tours of the campus.

The Tar Heels coaching staff has worked tirelessly to “fill in the blanks” for Baldwin Jr. What the 5-star recruit is missing from actually visiting Chapel Hill, Williams and his staff are doing their best to prove that North Carolina is the place for him to go.

Although Duke is currently favored in this race, Baldwin Jr.’s comments regarding North Carolina have to add some optimism in regards to his recruiting process. Nothing is set in stone yet, and the Tar Heels definitely have a chance to make an impact on his recruitment before it is all said and done.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC Basketball program and their recruitment process.