UNC must do everything it can to prevent Duke from ruining a Heels' 5-star dream

With all the focus for UNC and Michael Malone now on the 2027 class, it's become quite clear that 5-star small forward Demarcus Henry is becoming a top target for the staff. There's been recent buzz too that the Tar Heels are going to be in a prime spot to potentially land him later this year, but several teams, including Ohio State, are hoping to prevent that.

Go ahead and add Duke to the list. On Friday night, Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils officially entered this recruiting race by putting a scholarship offer on the table for the elite talent. With Henry recently releasing his Top 8, Duke didn't care at all about this, as you've got to figure this is going to shake up his process a bit moving forward. And it's something the Heels and Malone are going to have to overcome in a big way.

UNC must now work overtime to land 5-star Demarcus Henry with Duke involved

Back on July 7, the 6-7, 190-pounder revealed that his finalists were North Carolina, Ohio State, BYU, Arkansas, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville, and UConn. Again, though, we think it's safe to go ahead and assume that the Blue Devils entering the picture might force Henry to adjust that list of finalists soon, especially if Scheyer works to get him to Durham in the near future for a visit.

This is exactly where Malone and the Tar Heels need to get aggressive. Bringing Henry to Chapel Hill for an official visit was of course already a top priority. However, with Duke looking to make a bit of a splash here too, it adds to the urgency a bit. Rolling out the red carpet for Henry as soon as possible needs to happen - give him something to remember leading up to his final decision.

Ohio State is of course a serious contender here too, as Henry's older brother Chris is a freshman on the Buckeyes football team, while his sister Seini suits up for the Ohio State women's basketball team. That family connection in Columbus is likely going to play a role in how things go down here as well.

With all of that said, Henry is the No. 1 small forward in the country and No. 3 player nationally according to the 247Sports Composite. Every major powerhouse wants him, but Malone has shown him a ton of love from the moment he took the job at UNC to replace Hubert Davis. Malone doesn't need any extra motivation/reasons to make a strong pitch to Henry to suit up for the Heels down the road, but Duke just provided it. Go out and get Henry, and do everything possible to make sure he doesn't head to Carolina's biggest rival. Game on.

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