DeMar DeRozan reveals why he didn’t commit to North Carolina

Current NBA star DeMar DeRozan is coming off a year in which the Chicago Bulls reached the play-in tournament but struggled overall.

In his second year with the Bulls, DeRozan averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Before he gets set for his 15th season in the fall, DeRozan was on the “Podcast P Show with Paul George,” and he told a very interesting story about his recruitment.

Before he committed to USC, DeRozan was being pursued by North Carolina and even took a visit to Chapel Hill. He admitted he wanted to go to UNC because of the colors and because Michael Jordan played there. But the reason he didn’t commit? UNC wouldn’t take close friend Romeo Miller, the son of rapper Master P.

Here’s how DeRozan tells the story:

“So we had looked at a few schools. We were so close that whatever school I was going to go to, he had to go, too,” DeRozan said. “I wanted to go to North Carolina. One because it reminded me of Compton High blue, two Michael Jordan went there. I just really wanted to go to North Carolina. I remember we went on a visit, I’m taking a tour of the school and we are sitting in Roy Williams office. And I’m like ‘Yeah, I want to come here.’ He’s like ‘Yeah, man we would love to have you, but we are not taking him.'”

DeRozan goes on to say that he and Miller were so close that he didn’t want to go anywhere without him.

Williams was brutally honest during that conversation instead of lying to DeRozan. And while the Tar Heels would have loved to have DeRozan, they clearly didn’t want Miller or a package deal.