UNC Basketball: Tar Heels talking to much-needed 5-star wing

Roy Williams, UNC basketball program recruiting 5-star wing Mark Mitchell

Roy Williams and the North Carolina basketball program have an obvious lack of shooters on their current roster, and a glaring absence of elite talent at the wing position.

It’s not for lack of trying, and it’s not because they’ve abandoned the thought process that making shots is an important part of the modern day game of basketball. They’ve simply struck out on the recruiting trail time and time again over the past three years.

They’re trying to change that with 5-star small forward Mark Mitchell, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound product of Mission, Kansas. A junior at Bishop Miege High School, Mitchell already has offers from 10 of the top basketball schools in the country. That list includes Kansas, North Carolina, Texas and UCLA, among others, and will continue to grow over the course of the next year.

The Tar Heels, in particular, have been working to grow their relationship with Mitchell in hopes of breaking their three-year streak of not signing a 5-star wing. It’s been since the commitment of Nassir Little in 2017 that the Tar Heels could claim such a feat, and even Little’s production and impact in Chapel Hill were suboptimal.

So far, Williams and his staff appear to be doing a good job in their approach with Mitchell, and should at least be considered a contender at this point in his recruitment. And as Mitchell noted in a recent interview, he and his family have ties to the state of North Carolina, which certainly can’t hurt the Tar Heels’ efforts.

"“North Carolina…I have a really good relationship with Coach [Roy] Williams and Coach Robinson and I’ve been talking to them weekly, a couple of times a week, and just building that relationship,” Mitchell told Stockrisers’ Jake Weingarten earlier this week. “My mom is also from North Carolina actually, so that’s one of the options right now.”"

Mitchell is the No. 13 prospect in the class of 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s fifth among small forwards in the class, and No. 1 in the state of Kansas. Rivals has Mitchell ranked similarly at No. 9 in the class, while ESPN currently has him ranked 20th overall.

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