UNC Basketball: Wolfpack trying to edge out Tar Heels for 5-star recruit

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program are battling the NC State Wolfpack for highly-touted in-state recruit Robert Dillingham.

Robert Dillingham is not only one of the best players in the state of North Carolina, but also one of the very best in the nation. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound point guard is just a junior at Combine Academy, but he’s already garnering attention from a number of college basketball’s top programs.

Among the teams to have already offered Dillingham a scholarship are DePaul, Middle Tennessee State, Ole Miss, Tennessee Tech, USF, Wichita State and Winthrop. The crown jewel of his offer sheet to this point, though, and the program that’s recruited him harder than anyone, is undoubtedly North Carolina. The Tar Heels made a decision to prioritize Dillingham some time ago, and they’ve stuck to their guns on that, both before and after the coaching change in early April that saw former assistant Hubert Davis take the reins from Hall-of-Famer and three-time national title winner Roy Williams.

Other elite hoops programs in contact with Dillingham include Duke, Florida, Kansas and Kentucky, and more will likely join that list by the time his recruitment has concluded. Though the aforementioned quartette has yet to officially offer Dillingham, don’t count on that remaining the case. Dillingham is, after all, one of the very best in the nation at his position, and a consensus 5-star prospect in the class of 2023.

And add the NC State Wolfpack to the list of schools hoping to reel in the rising floor general. Head coach Kevin Keatts and company welcomed Dillingham to their campus in Raleigh on Tuesday morning as they attempt to draw some of the attention from their crosstown rival in Carolina blue.

Unfortunately for Keatts and the Wolfpack, Dillingham’s stop in Raleigh was just the first of the day. He made his way to Chapel Hill later in the afternoon for a visit with the Tar Heels, who are considered the prohibitive favorite at this point in his recruitment.

The No. 11 prospect in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite and eighth in the Rivals150, Dillingham was the first player in the 2023 class to receive an offer from the Tar Heels. That offer came back in December of last year, and was the only one offered by Roy Williams to a member of Dillingham’s class. The Tar Heels eventually followed that up with a June offer to Dillingham’s teammate and a top-30 prospect in the class, G.G. Jackson.

For the time being, though, Dillingham remains their primary focus in the class of 2023. That’s because Dillingham is an incredibly skilled ball player that can dribble, drive, distribute and shoot from all over the court. He’s a nifty finisher around the rim, and can get to the bucket through traffic. And while he has no problem creating his own offense, Dillingham is good at drawing the attention of multiple defenders and then passing to an open teammate.

A consensus 5-star prospect, Dillingham is currently the second-ranked player in the state of North Carolina behind only Lake Norman’s Mikey Williams. He’s also the No. 2 point guard in the class, trailing only Dajuan Wagner, Jr., the top-ranked prospect in the nation.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Robert Dillingham recruitment, as well as everything UNC basketball.