Former UNC Basketball recruiting target turns down rival

One of the top remaining uncommitted recruits in the country has officially made his decision as the 2021 recruiting cycle comes to a close. Former UNC Basketball recruiting target Patrick Baldwin Jr. made his decision official on Wednesday morning and he’s staying home.

Baldwin Jr. opted to stay in Wisconsin and play for his father, Patrick Baldwin, at Milwaukee, ending his recruitment once and for all.

The recruit picked the Panthers over Duke and Georgetown as his three finalists, essentially eliminating North Carolina going into this final day. The Tar Heels were once considered a candidate to land Baldwin Jr., making his cut lists but as time went on it was clear by UNC’s decision to target transfers and other recruits that they were out of the running.

The good news for UNC is that they won’t have to face Baldwin twice a year.

Going into this recruitment, there was some buzz that he could pick Duke over playing with his father as the crystal ball predictions were mixed between experts. But in the end he chose to stay home which does impact the Atlantic Coast Conference a bit next season. Duke currently has the No. 3 overall class for 2021 with four commitments and two additional transfers.

That class is headlined by five-star recruits Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, and Trevor Keels plus four-star Jaylen Blakes. Adding Baldwin would have been huge for the Blue Devils but either way they are going to have a really good and deep team next season that should compete for the top spot in the ACC.

Baldwin Jr. is ranked No. 4 overall, No. 1 small forward and the No. 1 player in the state of Wisconsin per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. He had a total of 23 offers in his recruitment.

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