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UNC Basketball: Battle of blue bloods for four-star guard?

By Zack Pearson

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 24: (L-R) Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greets head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels prior to coaching against each other during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 24, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 24: (L-R) Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greets head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels prior to coaching against each other during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 24, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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Are we headed for a Blue Blood battle as the UNC Basketball program and Kansas have both recently offered this four-star guard

The UNC Basketball program extended an offer to 2022 guard Nick Smith Jr. on Tuesday night, adding him to their recruiting board as they look to start landing some commitments for that class.

But UNC wasn’t the only team to offer Smith Jr. recently.

The Kansas Jayhawks offered Smith Jr. back on December 21st, adding their name to the competition to land the recruit. With the latest two offers, Smith Jr. is now up to 18 offers in his recruitment. While in-state Arkansas as well as programs like Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Baylor are interested, could we be heading for a Blue Blood battle?

Both UNC and Kansas are considered Blue Blood programs and while we aren’t counting out the other programs, landing an offer from the Tar Heels or Jayhawks is a big deal to recruits. Add in the fact that both teams are seeking some help in the backcourt and we could have ourselves a good ole fashioned Blue Blood showdown.

While UNC is used to battling both Duke and Kentucky for recruits, they have tangled with programs like Arizona and Kansas for years as well. The last Arkansas product that UNC seriously pursued was Malik Monk back in 2016 and they battled Kentucky and Kansas before he committed to the Wildcats.

The recruit will be cutting down his list of schools on January 5th and we’d be shocked to not see the Tar Heels or Jayhawks on that list. He told 247 Sports that he does talk with both UNC and Kansas all the time, among other teams. With the need for an elite scorer, Smith has become a very important recruit for the Tar Heels all of a sudden.

Smith Jr. is ranked No. 26 overall, No. 2 shooting guard and No. 1 player in the state of Arkansas per the 247 Sports recruiting rankings. The recruitment for this four-star shooting guard should start to heat up over the next few months.

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