UNC Basketball: Tar Heels with new recruiting target on their radar

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program have their newest recruiting target from the class of 2022 in 4-star center Vince Iwuchukwu.

Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels have got their sights set on a new target in the class of 2022 — 7-foot, 220-pound Vince Iwuchukwu. A rising senior from La Lumiere School in San Antonio, Texas, Iwuchukwu is a consensus 4-star prospect, and one of the top centers in the nation.

And according to Joe Tipton of Tipton Edits, North Carolina is among the schools recruiting Iwuchukwu the hardest. Along with the Tar Heels, Tipton named Arizona State, Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Texas and USC as the programs that are most fervently pursuing Iwuchukwu, a player that, while still very raw and unpolished, has tons of upside.

Already equipped with great height and wingspan, Iwuchukwu would benefit from adding some more weight to his long and somewhat wiry frame. What Iwuchukwu does have, is a tremendous amount of energy, assertiveness and tenacity on the basketball court. Sure, he can be sped up and forced into careless turnovers, but those are things that can be worked on fairly easily. What can’t be taught is his incredible height and shot-blocking ability, along with his explosiveness when finishing around the basket. He’s got the potential to be a really solid, versatile big man at the college level that can stretch the floor some, and guard multiple positions.

Iwuchukwu already has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Sienna, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UTSA. Look for that list to grow exponentially over the coming months, though, as Iwuchukwu has become a very attractive target among prospects in the 2022 class.

While the Tar Heels are yet to offer Iwuchukwu, they have been communicating with him and watching his progression. They’ve already offered two centers and four power forwards in the class, but don’t be surprised if Iwuchukwu lands his own UNC offer, too. After all, the Tar Heels will likely lose Armando Bacot after this season, and neither their current roster, nor next season’s incoming freshman class offer any real size to speak of.

Iwuchukwu is ranked 24th in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s ranked third among centers in the class, and No. 2 overall in the state of Texas. Although he’s currently just a 4-star prospect, Iwuchukwu could definitely add another star next to his name by the time he gets on campus a year from now.

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