UNC Basketball: New powerhouse program joins Dereck Lively recruitment

Big 12 powerhouse has sights set on 4-star UNC basketball target

Just two days after Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines extended a scholarship offer to class of 2022 prospect Dereck Lively II, Porter Moser of the Oklahoma Sooners followed suit.

The former Loyola-Chicago lead man turned Oklahoma head coach already has a six-man 2021 recruiting class highlighted by 4-star shooting guard CJ Noland and Duke transfer Jordan Goldwire. But now, just over a month into his new position, Moser is working steadfastly on the class of 2022, which will be his first full recruiting cycle as the Sooners’ head coach.

Lively, a rising junior at Westtown School in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, joins Sylvan Hills standout Nick Smith and Grand Island’s Isaac Traudt as 2022 prospects that hold offers from both Oklahoma and North Carolina.

The 7-foot-1, 220-pound Lively was offered a UNC scholarship from former UNC head coach Roy Williams, but Hubert Davis confirmed his own interest in the rising big man after taking the job in early April. And with everything we know about Lively to this point, he seems like a perfect fit for the UNC basketball program, and one that could potentially end up in Chapel Hill the season after next.

In a February interview with 247Sports’ Sherrell McMillan, Lively talked about his style of play and how he prefers to play the game, giving the Tar Heels and their fans hope that he ends up in a Carolina uniform.

"“I just want a high intensity, high-paced, up-and-down system,” Lively said. “I like shooting threes, pick and rolls, and catching it off the jump. I just don’t like sitting still. For a coaching staff, I like coaches that get behind their players and support them. Just hands on, one-on-one, trying to help them and get them to be the best player they can be. Mainly I want a school to help me develop so I can get to the next level as easy as possible because my goal is to try and stay in the NBA.”"

That sounds a lot like a program like North Carolina, especially with Hubert Davis at the helm, who I believe would be willing to let a player like Lively play face-up, three-point shooting basketball as a stretch-four that can run up and down the court and affect the game in a number of ways. And the Tar Heels will no doubt need a player of Lively’s size and skill by the time he would be arriving on campus in the fall of 2022.

We don’t have a timeline on when Lively will make a commitment, but given the current information that we have on him I’d have to assume that the Tar Heels will likely play a part in his recruitment.

Lively is ranked 36th in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s fourth among centers in the class, and No. 1 in the state of Pennsylvania.

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