UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ 2022 recruiting class could look a lot like this

Zion Cruz

The Tar Heels are still hoping to add some shooters to their 2022 recruiting class, and a player like Zion Cruz would certainly fill that void. The 6-foot-5, 175-pound shooting guard from Trenton, New Jersey is a consensus 5-star prospect, and one of the nation’s top players at his position.

Hubert Davis extended Cruz a scholarship offer the first week of July, joining a group of better than 20 programs to have done so to this point. Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Creighton, Florida State, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio State, Oregon and Syracuse are among them, as a number of college basketball’s top programs look to reel in a player that will undoubtedly improve the offensive firepower of whatever unit he joins next fall.

Cruz has great size and athleticism, and can do just about anything he wants on the offensive end of the court. He’s got good handles, and is quick off the bounce. He can shed defenders on his way to the basket, and has the strength and creativity to finish in traffic and through contact. He can lead the fast break all by himself, but will also look for open teammates running to the bucket in transition.

Cruz has already visited Auburn and Oregon, a pair of schools that appear to be very high on his list at the moment. Both are considered “warm” on Cruz’s 247Sports recruiting profile. Bruce Pearl’s Auburn program also has both FutureCast predictions that have been cast for Cruz. There’s certainly time left in his recruitment, though, and I expect him to make some more campus visits before announcing a final decision.

Cruz is the No. 20 prospect in the class of 2022, and the nation’s third-ranked shooting guard — that according to the 247Sports Composite. Rivals has him at No. 19, and fifth among players at his position.