UNC Basketball: Could Tar Heels get involved with local phenom?

Will the UNC basketball program take a shot at 5-star point guard Mikey Williams, or will they pass on a player that may never step foot on a college court?

Mikey Williams, a 5-star point guard in the class of 2023, has “reopened” his recruitment, which had previously been narrowed down to just 10 schools. Now, Williams will be considering those 10 schools, and any number of others that decide to get involved; that according to a Wednesday night tweet from Joe Tipton of Tipton Edits.

Williams’ original list of finalists included Alabama State, Arizona State, Hampton, Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina Central, San Diego State, Tennessee State, Texas Southern and USC. He also holds scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona, Arkansas, LSU, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas Tech and UCLA, among others. But after fully reopening his recruitment, Williams is likely to add a generous portion of new offers to his list.

So, would Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels consider throwing their names in the hat for one of the nation’s most gifted and sought-after high school prospects? Well, let’s take a look at that.

To this point, much of Williams’ focus on college programs has revolved around smaller basketball programs and HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Sure, he had schools like Kansas and Memphis in his initial list of finalists, but the majority of the other programs involved at that point were overwhelmingly dissimilar from the aforementioned pair of renown “basketball schools.”

Take North Carolina Central, for example, whom 247Sports’ Travis Branham sees as the favorite to land Williams. That is, if Williams ever steps foot onto a college basketball court.

"“My initial Crystal Ball was in favor for North Carolina Central,” Branham writes. “And I must clarify. I have long believed that the ultimate destination for Mikey was the professional ranks and that it was highly unlikely that he would play a game in the NCAA. However, I do believe if he does make a college commitment it will be to Levelle Moton at NC Central, which was the purpose of the initial Crystal Ball.”"

So, although Branham sees North Carolina Central as the school most likely to land Williams if he chooses the college route, he doesn’t actually think it’s all that likely to happen. Since giving Levelle Moton’s NC Central squad a Crystal Ball prediction, Branham has since changed his Crystal Ball prediction to reflect what he thinks will actually happen, and that’s a jump straight to the professional ranks for Williams.

With Williams primarily favoring smaller schools and HBCUs, and heavily entertaining the idea of going the professional route straight out of high school, I don’t see Hubert Davis and his staff spending much time and energy on this particular recruitment.

I’d be surprised if Williams ended up at a Kansas or Memphis, and even more surprised if he landed at Duke, Kentucky or North Carolina. With the talent that he possesses, and the brand that he’s already building at his young age, I’d honestly be shocked if he ended up doing anything other than playing professional ball when he graduates high school.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC basketball program.