UNC Basketball Recruiting: Blue bloods moving in on Tar Heel target

Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are all after one of the top UNC basketball recruiting targets in the class of 2023.

The Matas Buzelis recruitment is anything but a secret these days. One of the most talented and highly thought of prospects in the class of 2023, Buzelis is being recruited by many of the nation’s top college basketball programs.

His list includes Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Syracuse, UCLA and Wisconsin, but it may be the attention he’s getting from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina that really puts his recruitment over the top.

Kentucky is the only aforementioned program that hasn’t officially offered Buzelis, but that’s expected to change soon. Wildcats head coach John Calipari has visited the 6-foot-11, 175-pound Buzelis on a number of occasions, including last month and again over the weekend.

Along with Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Kansas’ Norm Roberts, Calipari was on hand at the National Prep Showcase where Buzelis had 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks in a 69-63 loss to Fork Union Military, that according to Zagsblog’s Adam Zagoria.

"“It shows how talented I am, I guess, but I still have a lot of work to do,” Buzelis said. “I’m trying to get stronger and just having a good consistent jump shot is important for me. I’m trying to gain 10-15 pounds this year.”"

There’s still no telling where Buzelis will end up, as it remains incredibly early in his recruitment. One thing is clear, though: He’ll basically have his pick of the litter when the time comes. I don’t expect a commitment from him during his junior year of high school; he’ll likely look to take visits to a handful of the programs on his offer sheet first, and whittle down the number of schools to a more workable list of finalists at some point.

Buzelis is currently ranked 12th in the 247Sports Composite, fourth among wings and No. 1 in the state of New Hampshire. He’s ranked even higher in the Top247 at No. 4 overall and second among players at his position. The Rivals150 has him substantially lower at 27th overall, but I expect their ranking of the talented big man to improve in the coming months.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Tar Heels’ pursuit of Matas Buzelis, and everything UNC basketball recruiting.