UNC Basketball: Tar Heel recruiting targets climb latest Rivals150

A number of UNC basketball targets from the class of 2022 saw improved rankings in the latest Rivals150.

Hubert Davis and the North Carolina basketball program have yet to earn a commitment from a player in the class of 2022, but they’ll look to change that in a busy month of June that will see a handful of top-100 prospects in Chapel Hill for official visits.

A number of those prospects, namely Dereck Lively II, Seth Trimble and Justin Taylor, made substantial improvements to their recruiting rankings in the latest Rivals150 that was released on Thursday.

Lively, a rising senior at Westtown School in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, has moved up from 45th to 14th in the updated rankings. A 7-foot-1, 220-pound center, Lively was initially offered a scholarship from former UNC head coach Roy Williams in February, but has remained a priority of Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels over the past couple of months. Recent reports suggest that North Carolina is among the programs recruiting Lively the hardest, and are believed to have at least a decent shot at earning a commitment from the talented big man.

Trimble, brother of former Tar Heel J.P Tokoto and a rising senior at Menomonee Falls, saw his ranking improve from No. 109 to No. 35 in the new Rivals150. Now, approaching 5-star status entering the summer before his final year of high school, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard has become a very popular prospect on the recruiting trail. He’s got offers from more than a dozen schools including Creighton, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Taylor, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound wing from Charlottesville, Virginia, has moved up 15 spots from No. 69 to No. 54. He’s already holding offers from Butler, Florida, Indiana, Marquette, Maryland, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and a host of others, and that list will continue to grow over the coming months. Taylor may be listed as a small forward, but he’s being recruited by the Tar Heels to play the role of shooting guard. Indiana, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech may have the inside track to a commitment from Taylor, but the Tar Heels will look to make up ground this summer.

The Tar Heels will continue pushing for commitments from each of the three players over the coming months, as well as nine others that currently hold UNC offers, and a handful of others that Hubert Davis and his staff are keeping a close eye on.

We’ll continue to follow all of that, and everything on the UNC basketball program.