North Carolina grabbed a critical piece of its 2023 class on Friday, as five-star guard Simeon Wilcher announced his commitment to the Tar Heels. The announcement coincided with halftime of UNC’s midnight madness event, showing that the new staff has a bit of a flair for the dramatic. Rivals.com caught up with the future Tar Heel to discuss his decision. That conversation can be found below

ON WHY HE CHOSE NORTH CAROLINA

“I really just felt like it was a second home. I was extremely comfortable from the moment I stepped on campus. That usually doesn’t happen. Immediately, I was like ‘Oh yeah. This is right. This is the place. Then you add in the lineage, and the legacy and the guards that come out of there. I knew it was right.”

ON HIS FAVORITE UNC GUARD

“If we’re talking about recent history, I’d probably say Marcus Paige. I like him a lot. I like the way he plays.”

ON HIS VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA

“With basketball stuff, the coaches kind of just let me be there and soak it in and see everything. Of course we toured campus and all that. Then, Coach Hubert [Davis] took me to meet his family. We tailgate for the football game; North Carolina and Florida State. That didn’t go very well for North Carolina, but it was still a good experience.”

ON IF HE KNEW HE MIGHT COMMIT GOING INTO THE VISIT

“Actually, no. I was feeling them a lot going in, though. I didn’t know for sure yet. I knew they wanted me heavy, too. I liked that. They showed me that and it made me feel good. Once I saw the environment and how all the legendary people are always there. That was a big part for me. Then, when I got to talk to Roy [Williams]. That was cool, too.”

ON HIS CONVERSATION WITH ROY WILLIAMS

“We talked for a while. He told me everything about himself and told me what it was like when he was in school there. It was really cool.”

ON THE IDEA TO COMMIT DURING MIDNIGHT MADNESS

“Coach Hubert actually came up with the idea. I liked it.”