Derek Dixon commitment ‘alleviated’ some concern for UNC?

A Rivals analyst says there was some concerns before the UNC basketball program landed a commitment.

North Carolina finally got on the board in terms of the 2025 recruiting class, landing a commitment from Derek Dixon last Friday. Dixon was the first player to commit and now, the Tar Heels can brief a sigh of relief, a little bit.

Hubert Davis and his staff still are pursuing other targets in hopes of building a three-to-four-man class. But landing this first commitment was a step forward and according to one analyst, it alleviated some concerns for the Tar Heels.

Rob Cassidy of Rivals wrote on the top five biggest commitments of September and at No. 5 was Dixon to UNC. But Cassidy noted that there was some concern without a commitment:

It’s not as though Dixon was a must-get for the Tar Heels, but his commitment certainly alleviated a hint of building concern about the program’s slow start to the 2025 recruiting cycle. North Carolina missed out on prospects such as Jasper Johnson and Isiah Harwell among others, so it was imperative to get the momentum turned around by landing Dixon, who committed to Hubert Davis over finalists Virginia, Pitt and Vanderbilt.

North Carolina has plenty of work to do in the 2025 class, as the Dixon commitment won’t be enough to completely ease the minds of some grumbling fans on its own. It does, however, provide some bit of relief on that front while Davis and his staff chase higher-profile targets such as Caleb Wilson, Nate Ament, Braylon Mullins, AJ Dybantsa and Niko Bundalo.

.It’s easy to see why there would be concern for the Tar Heels without a commitment. It’s been a slow start to the recruiting cycle for them. BUT it’s also very early as well.

There is a long ways to go in this cycle and they have some big targets left on their board as well. Getting this commitment is a good start and it’s time to build on it.

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