UNC Basketball: More bad recruiting news for Duke
By Zack Pearson
Selection Sunday is finally here as the 2020-21 college basketball begins to wind down. While the UNC Basketball program waits for their seeding in the NCAA Tournament, things are looking up for them a month after the team was on the bubble.
This past season hasn’t been a great one for the Tar Heels as they have had their fair share of struggles and found themselves on the bubble just a month ago. But it could be worse.
UNC’s blue blood rival down the road in Durham, Duke, has had their struggles this year and likely won’t make it to the NCAA Tournament. While Duke has struggled and will finish the year barely over .500, things are going so well on the recruiting trail either.
Their top recruiting target, Patrick Baldwin, appears destined to end up in Milwaukee to play for his father, likely turning down both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. Over the past week, their chances for another big recruit on their board took a hit.
Five-star shooting guard Trevor Keels is one of the top uncommitted recruits left in the 2021 class and is considering Duke, Villanova and Kentucky. While Keels was once considered a lean to Duke by some, those chances appear to be diminishing.
Villanova has picked up three Crystal Ball predictions for Keels and all three came from Duke insiders on 247 Sports. They currently hold three of the four predictions with only Eric Bossi picking Duke back in February.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Keels is ranked No. 20 overall, No. 3 at his position and the No. 1 player in the state of Virginia per the 247 Sports recruiting rankings. He was once considering the Tar Heels but eliminated them from contention in 2020.
This is an interesting development as Duke got off to a great start with their recruiting class, landing Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin who are both Top 10 players. Many believed they would add at least a few more five starts but that could be in jeopardy.
Hey, you won’t see any UNC fans complain.
For more on UNC Basketball and their rival Duke, please check back with Keeping It Heel.