UNC Basketball: Tar Heels all-in on Cam Whitmore

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program have prioritized Archbishop Spalding’s Cam Whitmore, sending the entire coaching staff to watch the budding 4-star wing at the Peach Jam.

The North Carolina Tar Heels aren’t holding any punches in the recruitment of 4-star small forward Cam Whitmore. First-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis was accompanied by his entire staff of assistants at last weekend’s Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina.

North Carolina is one of the programs that’s been pushing hardest for a commitment from Whitmore since offering him a scholarship in late June. They’ve clearly prioritized him as a player that they want to join their 2022 recruiting class — which is already ranked No. 1 in the nation. A commitment from Whitmore would only strengthen the Tar Heels’ stranglehold on their top-rated recruiting class, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see it happen.

Whitmore spoke highly of the Tar Heels and their new-look coaching staff in a July interview, noting his burgeoning relationship with Davis, who’s as red-hot on the recruiting trail as anyone in recent history.

The Tar Heels certainly seem to be one of the teams with an edge in Whitmore’s recruitment, as much of the talk surrounding his recruitment lately has revolved around them. North Carolina, Florida, Penn State and Villanova are the programs listed as “warm” in Whitmore’s recruitment according to 247Sports, but I wouldn’t write off any of his 10 finalists just yet.

A number of them were in attendance at the Peach Jam over the weekend watching Whitmore play. And as 247Sports’ Eric Bossi mentioned in his write-up of Saturday’s events, the budding wing from Severn, Maryland is one of the hottest prospects in the nation of late.

"“One of the biggest stories of the last month or so has been the explosion of Team Melo’s Cam Whitmore from fringe top 100 prospect to near five-star dude in the class of 2022,” Bossi writes. “Whitmore’s game is about max effort, physicality and being in attack mode. Honestly, he almost plays too hard and goes too fast at times. But, teaching about when to dial things back a little is something a coach would much rather do than try to get a guy to ramp it up. I do have some questions about his consistency as a jump shooter, but there’s not much I don’t really like about Whitmore.”"

Whitmore had a solid weekend in front of the UNC coaching staff, scoring 23 points (10-for-14) in his first game of the day on Saturday, and following it up with a 16-point (7-for-15), six-rebound performance in his second game. He wasn’t done there, as he came up big on Sunday with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double. He hit 7-of-13 shots for the game and 2-of-3 from three-point range, and also dished out three assists.

I expect the Tar Heels to keep the full-court press on for Whitmore in the coming months. We don’t know exactly how long his recruitment will carry on, but the Tar Heels should remain a major player until Whitmore makes a list or an announcement stating otherwise. I think the Tar Heels have a real shot at earning the rising 4-star prospect’s commitment when it’s all said and done.

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