5-star Demarcus Henry gives UNC fantastic news with list of finalists out

Since officially entering the DeMarcus Henry sweepstakes in May, Michael Malone and UNC have been heavily pursuing the five-star talent.

In fact, when the Tar Heels jumped into the mix, many started to believe that the former Charlotte native was no longer a lock to head to Ohio State.

Wrapping up his high school basketball career at AZ Compass Prep, Henry was figured to be a Ohio State lean given his brother, Chris Henry Jr. is set to play football this fall for the Buckeyes. While making a home in Columbus is still very much on the table, taking his talents to Chapel Hill is also still a very realistic possibility.

DeMarcus Henry announces his Top 8 finalists

On The Henry Legacy Podcast, Henry revealed that he is down to eight finalists in his recruitment.

While both North Carolina and Ohio State were both essentially locks to be included, who else has made the cut?

As announced by his sister, Henry's top 8 are:

Arkansas
BYU
UConn
Louisville
Ohio State
Kentucky
North Carolina
Kansas

Pretty star-studded group of schools that UNC will need to compete with!

While some of the top programs in the country are still very much in the mix, UNC has to like where they currently stand in this given recruitment. Of course, we're still not near the finish line just yet, but in this race to land this five-star talent, North Carolina appears to be near (or even at the front) of the pack.

Neoklis Avdalas gives UNC fans yet another reason to be fired up for his debut

Even though Rivals ranks him as a four-star prospect (as opposed to both 247Sports and ESPN having him as a five-star), the consensus between recruiting sites is that Henry is a top-15 player within this graduating class. He comes from a very athletic family, one in which his father, Chris Henry, played five seasons in the NFL while his aforementioned brother is set to compete on one of college football's biggest stages.

With the new regime in Chapel Hill in place, we've all been paying even closer attention to the work that Michael Malone and his staff have been putting in on the recruiting trail. Given that we have no prior data to look back on, this recruiting class is the first real glimpse of what we can expect from this staff in terms of recruiting, especially the type of players they are looking to lure to Chapel Hill.

What we've learned so far is this: North Carolina is going to heavily recruit the top high school talents that the country has to offer, and they aren't satisfied by being finalists in these given recruitments: they want to win them.

Landing a player of Henry's caliber would be a massive addition for UNC for a variety of reasons, most notably setting the tone for Malone's first official high school recruiting class at the helm at North Carolina.

Now, with the majority of the competition ruled out, UNC is getting closer to its ultimate goal. However, there's still plenty of work to do and some very good programs to hold off as they look to earn a commitment from their guy DeMarcus Henry.

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