Marcus Spears Jr. shocked the recruiting world on Thursday when he announced his decision to commit to the University of Texas.
Not that his choice of destination stunned anyone, but his decision to reclassify and join the Longhorns a year early certainly did!
After extending an offer to him on May 19, UNC continued to contact Spears Jr. However, their level of involvement, especially down the stretch as he made the decision to reclassify, doesn't seem to have been very significant, leading us to believe that North Carolina has other Class of 2027 targets on their wish list.
Speaking of which, now that Spears Jr. is off the board, here are four five-star prospects that North Carolina should be focusing on to build its 2027 recruiting class.
UNC should be heavily pursuing these 5-star talents
Beckham Black has been on UNC's radar even before Michael Malone took over as the program's head coach.
Arguably the top available player in the 2027 class, Black received an offer from Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels in January. In the middle of May, Malone and his staff reignited the program's interest in him, letting him know that their offer was still very much valid.
Black is a dynamic point guard who can impact the game in a variety of ways. North Carolina, which will need to find a point guard for next year's team, would be wise to heavily pursue Black, given he has the ability to step in right away and make an immediate impact in Chapel Hill.
Of the players in the Class of 2027, DeMarcus Henry just may be the guy that the Tar Heels covet the most.
An in-state product, Henry included UNC on his top 8 list, which also includes other top-tier programs. In what could end up being a battle between UNC and Ohio State for his services, Malone and his staff aim to bring Henry back to the state of North Carolina where his basketball journey began.
Henry has unsurprisingly risen up the recruiting rankings, and rightly so given what he's been able to do on the court over the last few months. North Carolina has been paying close attention and will do whatever it takes to earn his commitment, which would be a major addition to the program.
When Adan Diggs decided to reclassify to the Class of 2027, Malone and the Tar Heels wasted no time jumping into the mix for his services.
You could make the case that Diggs is the best overall prospect of any graduating class in the high school recruiting cycle, as evidenced by his ranking not dropping a bit when he changed classes. As Jamie Shaw noted in his evaluation of his game, this kid has all the traits that you'd look for in a 6-foot-4 combo guard:
Looking at Adan Diggs, you see a lengthy 6-foot-4 player with quality movement skills. He has the adequate positional size for an on-ball advantage creator, along with the fluid athletic traits and the plus length that will scale up as he continues to progress in level.
While his game expands further than just the shooting, it is his ability to rise up and knock down a shot that opens things up for him at different levels on the floor.  He is comfortable stepping into his shot off the bounce or playing off a teammate who collapses and kicks.
Similar to Black, CJ Rosser has been on North Carolina's radar for quite some time.
In fact, Rosser, a 6-foot-9 forward, made a visit to Chapel Hill this past season, showing that the interest was very much mutual.
Of course, the head coaching change in Chapel Hill might play a role, but there's no doubt that Malone and his new-look staff should continue prioritizing this top-5 caliber player.
For Rosser, the key will be to see if North Carolina can bring him in on an official visit. Even though his first visit was labeled as "unofficial," Rosser can still take an official visit to Chapel Hill with the new staff in place.
While Hubert Davis is no longer at the helm, it remains to be seen whether the new staff, which includes an NBA championship coach and one of the sport's top recruiters, can pick up where the Davis-led staff left off in recruiting this top-tier talent.
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