UNC Basketball: Five-star point guard eliminates Tar Heels from contention

The UNC basketball program has been eliminated in the recruitment of one of the nation’s top point guard prospects.

Isaiah Collier, a five-star prospect in the class of 2023, has eliminated North Carolina and a handful of other schools from his list, that according to a report from Joe Tipton of On3 Sports. Among the programs joining North Carolina on the outside looking in are Florida, Indiana, Louisville, Miami, NC State and Texas Tech.

Collier, the nation’s 19th-ranked prospect, will instead be moving forward with a group of seven schools that includes Auburn, Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia, UCLA, and USC. Prior to cutting his list, Collier took unofficial trips to Alabama, Auburn and Georgia, and he plans to make his first official visit to Alabama this weekend.

It’s no real surprise that Collier cut the Tar Heels from contention, as Hubert Davis and company didn’t offer him a scholarship until late September, and also got a recent commitment from another five-star guard, Simeon Wilcher. Now, that’s not to say that Collier and Wilcher couldn’t coexist and thrive together, or that the Tar Heels won’t still sign another elite back court prospect in the 2023 class, but it does make it less surprising that a similar player would look to play elsewhere.

Collier was one of two uncommitted guard prospects from his class with a UNC offer, the other being four-star point guard London Johnson, who named the Tar Heels among his list of 12 finalists last week. Following Tuesday’s development with Collier, the Tar Heels will likely shift more focus onto Johnson, as well as other uncommitted prospects in the class.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Tar Heels’ 2023 recruiting class, and everything on the UNC basketball program.