UNC Basketball: Tar Heels eliminated in race for elite guard

Hubert Davis and the UNC Basketball program can officially move on from an elite 5-star wing in the 2022 class.

On Thursday, five-star combo guard Nick Smith Jr. made a big update to his recruitment by cutting his list of 26 offers down to his final eight schools. And for the North Carolina Tar Heels, they were not among those eight schools as their pursuit has officially ended.

Smith Jr. is down to Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, the Australian NBL and the Overtime League, he told Tipton Edits on Tuesday:

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard was originally offered by Roy Williams as the Tar Heels made him a priority early on in his recruitment. But as time went on, it became more clear that the interest between the two sides was just not there. As soon as Kentucky entered the mix, it appeared as if the Tar Heels and other teams started to fade, as is now the case with his list.

It’s very likely UNC ended their pursuit of Smith with Davis in charge as the first-year head coach realized that he should focus on other big targets in 2022 and that this wasn’t going to be a realistic possibility.

Smith is ranked No. 27 overall, the No. 4 combo guard and the No. 1 player in the state of Arkansas per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. 

The Tar Heels currently hold the No. 2 ranked recruiting class with three prospects committed in 2022 highlighted by five-star center Jalen Washington.

For more on the UNC Basketball program and recruiting, please check out with Keeping It Heel.