Tag: unc basketball recruiting

UNC basketball listed as a program that could steal away this five-star recruit

Will the UNC basketball program be able to pull Koa Peat out of Arizona?

North Carolina’s 2025 basketball recruiting big board is still taking shape as prospects are setting visits for the fall and taking the next steps in their recruitment. While UNC will get some visits from prospects high on their list, others have already visited.

That includes five-star power forward Koa Peat.

The Arizona native is among the top players in the 2025 recruiting class, and he has offers from 30 programs. While Peat has already taken some visits, his recruitment is still unclear though in-state Arizona seems to be the favorite.

But don’t count out the Tar Heels yet. Rob Cassidy of Rivals.com wrote on Peat’s recruitment and had an interesting take on UNC:

Arizona-based forward Koa Peat has plenty of options. North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Baylor, Texas and Houston are certified serious players when it comes to Peat, but there has been significant buzz growing around in-state Arizona as of late.

Pete, who has spent his entire life in the Grand Canyon State, plays his high school hoops just 99 miles away from Tucson and has visited campus on multiple occasions already. He plans to take a fall official visit before announcing a decision.

North Carolina feels like the biggest threat to snap Peat away from the in-state power, but the Wildcat staff has had quite a head-start when it comes to solidifying their relationship with the five-star forward. Houston and Texas shouldn’t be ruled out, either, but it seems Arizona would be the betting favorite for the time being if odds on such a thing existed.

Pulling Peat out of Arizona seems like a tough task but as Cassidy notes, UNC could be the program to do it.

Will it land a top-five player in the 2025 class?

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Marcus Smart reveals how UNC basketball missed out on him in recruitment

How did the UNC basketball program lose out on Marcus Smart to Oklahoma State?

The 2012 recruiting class for Roy Williams and North Carolina was an important one. Following the departures of Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, Tyler Zeller, and John Henson, UNC needed to reload to build the future of the program.

They did land the No. 6 overall class with four commitments headlined by Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson. But that class could have been even better if it were not for a spontaneous recruiting trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma for Marcus Smart.

The five-star guard had a significant climb in the recruiting rankings, ending as the No. 13 overall player in the 247Sports rankings. But he almost ended up at North Carolina if it wasn’t for his close friend Phil Forte and that trip to Stillwater.

While on Theo Pinson’s “Run Your Race” podcast, Smart told the story of how he was going to commit to UNC but decided to commit to Oklahoma State instead:

“I was going to North Carolina,” Smart said.” Roy Williams was on his way to a meeting, to a house call. I’ll never forget this s***. He was on the way. It’s Friday, it’s Thursday, Friday. Sunday he’s coming for a house visit. Phil [Forte] said on a Friday ‘Hey come to Oklahoma State with me for my official visit. I don’t want to go by myself. . . ‘ I’m like ‘Hell naw. And them I’m like, F*** it, it’s not that far. So we go, and I go and I’m like ‘Bro, I have to be back.I have Roy coming, I gotta get back. I cant miss that.’ He’s like ‘Cool, you will be back.’

“We get there, instantly off rip coaches didn’t say anything to me, Travis Ford didn’t really say anything to me. Uh, Butch Pierre didn’t really, they said ‘What’s up’ but they didn’t really try to recruit me. And they were like ‘We understand, we know you have Roy Williams coming.’ Everybody knows about that. They take Phil off and they walk off, while all this was going on, they were the first school to ever do that. Every other school that called or asked about recruitment was like ‘If we get Phil, will you come?’ And I’m like ‘To be honest, nah. Cause we’re not on that. We are trying to go our separate ways.’

So everything still sounds fine, right? Oklahoma State knew that Smart wasn’t there for a recruiting visit and that they didn’t plan to be a package deal. So what happened? Well, it sounded like a split-second decision.

“And after that meeting, me and Phil talked and he was like ‘Man, we’ve been doing this since the third grade. We might as well finish this s*** off the right way.’ Then I’m like ‘S***, you right. Why not? I got the best shooter in the country and you have one of the best playmakers, so why not?”

Smart goes on to say that instantly Forte committed to the Cowboys, giving the coaching staff his verbal with Smart doing the same. That gave Oklahoma State a package deal and two backcourt standouts.

For North Carolina, they missed out on Smart and one of the top players in the class that could have helped the backcourt. It’s another ‘what if’ story on recruiting from a player’s side that Pinson was able to share.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Basketball prospect in 2026 recruiting class hoping to draw interest from UNC

Will the UNC basketball program show interest in a 2026 small forward? He’s hoping so.

Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels are identifying their top targets not only in the 2025 recruiting class but 2026 as well. Over the past few weeks, we have seen UNC hand out some offers including to that 2026 class.

But one prospect that hasn’t received an offer yet is hoping to get more interest from the Tar Heels.

Four-star small forward Herly Brutus has just one offer so far, with Jacksonville being the lone team to offer. However, his play as of late is drawing the attention of teams and more offers are likely on the way.

As Brutus continues his strong play this Summer, he recently caught up with Pro Insight to talk about his recruitment. In the interview, he talked about UNC and hopefully getting an offer from the Tar Heels in the future:

“I had UNC, and it’s still UNC now. And I’m hoping to get that offer sooner or later.”

You can watch the interview below:

The 6-foot-5, 180-pound Brutus is ranked No. 89 nationally, the No. 27 small forward and No. 11 player in the state of Florida per the 247Sports recruiting class.

More offers are expected to roll in for Brutus over time and with UNC being on his mind, will Davis and the Tar Heels officially offer him?

Stay tuned.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

UNC basketball offers rising power forward in 2025 class

The latest prospect to get an offer from the UNC basketball program is rising power forward Niko Bundalo.

The offers just keep rolling in for prospects in the 2025 and 2026 classes from the North Carolina Tar Heels.

After offering a dual-sport athlete on Thursday afternoon, Hubert Davis and his staff are after a rising power forward in the 2025 recruiting class. On Thursday night, the Tar Heels officially extended an offer to Niko Bundalo, a player the Tar Heels have had their eyes on for months now.

The Hudson, Ohio native now has 33 offers in his recruitment with UNC, Alabama, Arizona State,  Illinois, Kentucky, and Purdue among others getting involved so far for the talented forward.

Bundalo has yet to take any official visits or schedule visits in his recruitment but with his recruitment picking up, he should be doing that soon. And with UNC showing interest in him, the Tar Heels have a good shot at getting a potential visit.

The 6-foot-11, 195-pound Bundalo is ranked No. 25 nationally, No. 7 power forward, and the No. 1 player in the state of Ohio per the 247Sports recruiting rankings.

He’s now the 15th player to hold an offer from UNC but the team was recently eliminated from Isiah Harwell’s list.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

UNC basketball reaches out to two in-state prospects in 2026 class

Hubert Davis and North Carolina have their eyes on two of the top players in the 2026 basketball recruiting class.

Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels have just one offer out in the 2026 recruiting class but are showing interest in some prospects. That includes a pair of in-state recruits that are among the best in the class.

North Carolina has reached out to both Cole Cloer and Kendre’ Harrison in the 2026 class per Rivals.com reporter David Sisk on Saturday. With the new contact period open for coaches, UNC has wasted no time in pursuing prospects in the state.

Cloer does have an offer from the Tar Heels, earning one back in May and he’s the only prospect in 2026 to have an offer from UNC. He’s also drawing interest from other programs as NC State, Oklahoma State, Louisville, LSU, and Ohio State have reached out as well.

As for Harrison, he’s a big target of Mack Brown and the football program as a top 10 player in the 2026 class but would also like to play basketball as well, which could be an advantage overall for the Tar Heels.

Both Cloer and Harrison are expected to be big targets of UNC moving forward and if Davis and his staff want to continue to build strong recruiting classes, landing the top players in the state of North Carolina could be the key.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Former Arkansas forward seeking a new home after withdrawing from NBA Draft

Will the UNC basketball program look at a former Arkansas player in the transfer portal?

If Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels want to add some more depth to their roster at the forward position, a new option just became available.

On Monday, former Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 NBA Draft. Instead of returning to the Razorbacks, he’s looking for a new home after John Calipari took the job and brought several players to the program.

With Brazile withdrawing, Field of 68 host Jeff Goodman reported that he is ‘wide open’ looking for his next spot in college basketball. And that could benefit the Tar Heels in the coming weeks:

North Carolina does need to fill two wing spots this year. losing Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan. They also lost center Armando Bacot and so far, have only landed two players out of the transfer portal.

Even with the additions of Cade Tyson and Ven-Allen Lubin, there is room to add more to this roster. But will Davis and his staff target a player like Brazile?

The forward averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds a year ago for the Razorbacks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

UNC basketball recruiting target stands out at USA camp

What an analyst said about a UNC basketball recruiting target that stood out at a USA basketball camp.

After a weekend on the recruiting trail at AAU events, the UNC basketball program was busy handing out offers last week. The Tar Heels gave out multiple offers to 2025 prospects a week ago, including entering the race for a West Coast recruit.

Nikolas Khamenia was one of the prospects that UNC offered, as the program showed interest in him. The four-star power forward out of Studio City, California has drawn interest from a few different programs now, earning 13 offers so far.

But after his performance at the USA Basketball Camp for the U-18 tryout, the interest should continue to pour in. Khamenia was named a standout by 247Sports analyst Adam Finklestein:

How did he make the cut? He’s been a skilled connector. He’s spaced the floor, been a consistent shooting threat from three, passed the ball very well within the flow of the offense, and also shown the acumen and leadership to pick-up concepts quickly and guide teammates in that process.

How can he make the team? Prove that he can defend opposing wings and impose the type of ball pressure, particularly away from the basket, that this team will try to utilize to pick up the tempo.

That’s some high praise for the recruit.

With North Carolina getting involved, we will need to keep our eyes on Khamenia moving forward. The Tar Heels appear to be a legit contender in his recruitment and if things pick up, we could be seeing him in Chapel Hill for a visit eventually.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

UNC basketball recruiting target planning visit to Duke in Fall

The Duke Blue Devils will get a visit from a top UNC basketball recruiting target in the 2025 class.

Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels continue to build their recruiting board for the 2025 class, after giving out multiple offers earlier in the week.They now have a pretty established big board with some top prospects, including the No. 1 overall player AJ Dybantsa.

The small forward out of Utah is the top-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class as of right now and is drawing the attention of a lot of programs. He has 24 offers and has taken 2 visits so far.

While he has plans to visit more schools this Fall, he will likely do so to UNC’s rival Duke as well. The Blue Devils entered the race for Dybantsa recently, offering him and joining the recruitment as a legit contender.

Dybantsa recently caught up with Charlie Parent of Zag’s Blog to talk about his recruitment, revealing some plans for visits:

“I’m open to every school, but I will probably take a visit [to Duke] in the fall,” he said. “I’ll probably narrow it down after Peach Jam and take my visits then.”

Duke: “It’s a dream to have every single blue blood. That was the last one I didn’t have so it felt good to get it. He’s [Jon Scheyer] good. He says that I play the system well.”

Anytime Duke enters a recruitment, they become a contender for that player, which is not great news for the Tar Heels. But at this moment, it’s hard to tell who the leader is and where UNC stands.

Let’s just hope UNC can get a visit come this Fall and move forward in his recruitment.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

UNC basketball program sends out first offer in 2026 recruiting class

The UNC basketball program is starting to identify its top targets in the 2026 recruiting class.

The North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program has identified its first big target in the 2026 recruiting class.

A day after Hubert Davis and the program offered four prospects in the 2025 class, the Tar Heels have gone to the 2026 class. UNC has officially offered four-star small forward Cole Cloer, he announced Tuesday afternoon via social media.

The 6-foot-6, 180-pound Cloer hails out of Hillsborough, North Carolina, playing his high school basketball at Orange. He has a total of 9 offers in his recruitment as UNC joins the race along with Illinois, NC State, Tennessee, and Wake Forest among others.

Cloer will certainly receive more offers moving forward as it’s very early on in his recruiting process.

UNC has shown interest in Cloer, watching him in the Spring evaluation period as he performed well for Team CP3. The play of the small forward drew UNC’s attention, landing him an offer that he called “exciting” via Inside Carolina:

“That’s one of the best programs that there has ever been in college basketball,” Cloer said. “Especially being from around there… 30 minutes from my house, (the offer) is very exciting.”

Cloer is ranked No. 18 nationally, the No. 7 small forward and No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina per the 247Spots recruiting rankings.

UNC has yet to land a commitment in 2025 and is now offering their first prospect in 2026 ahead of what should be a very busy Summer on the recruiting trail for the Tar Heels.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

 

Four-star in-state recruit has high praise for UNC basketball program

Read what a four-star recruit out of North Carolina had to say about the UNC Basketball program.

Among the top prospects in the state of North Carolina is four-star small forward Jackson Keith. The Durham native is a top 100 player in the 2025 recruiting class and recently stood out at an AAU event over the weekend.

The Southern High School product has drawn interest from some big programs but has yet to land an offer from Hubert Davis and North Carolina in the process, despite the Tar Heels showing interest in him over the past few months.

After the AAU weekend tournament, playing for Team CP3 on the Nike EYBL circuit, he caught up with Charlie Parent of Zag’s Blog and he had some interesting words about UNC:

Keith is from Durham and said North Carolina has reached out to him, but is still waiting to receive an offer.

“[Playing for UNC] would be great,” he said. “Growing up in North Carolina, you watch the best schools around you, and they’ve always been one of the best.”

The Tar Heels appear to be in contention if they do eventually offer the recruit from Durham. It sounds like UNC would be one of the frontrunners if there was an offer and it might just be a waiting game at the moment.

UNC has handed out four new offers since Monday morning but Keith was not one of them, yet.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.