It was another busy week on the recruiting trail in which we saw Greg Brown and Kerwin Walton finally come off the board, and another slate of transfers pick their next college landing spots.
In this week’s #TwitterTuesday, we take a closer look at North Carolina’s 2021 class, the latest on Trevor Keels, the next coach at Wake Forest, and where Michigan and Michigan State sit with top junior targets.
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MORE: Kervin Walton pledges to North Carolina
2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
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First and foremost, North Carolina invested a lot into its 2020 class, a group that is arguably the best Roy Williams has assembled since taking over in Chapel Hill. His staff’s time and energy have been geared more toward what their roster might look like for the upcoming season compared with the 2021-2022 season, which makes it that much more impressive that they were able to land four-star junior Dontrez Styles.
With the transfer frenzy still ongoing and the recruitment of Kerwin Walton complete, now was the time that many, including UNC, would place greater attention on its 2021 class thanks to the two live periods that occur every April. As we know now, those two weekends were canceled due to the coronavirus but I would expect for North Carolina to make a strong push with its 2021 class in the coming weeks.
It should be noted, UNC is not a program that is known for throwing out blanket offers. Rather, the Tar Heels are about specifically pin-pointing those that are not only good enough on the floor, but fit what they are looking for off the court.
They will likely hand out a few more offers regardless if a travel season begins or not but they seem to be fairly comfortable with who they are already tracking. They have already brought Kennedy Chandler, Paolo Banchero, Patrick Baldwin, Harrison Ingram and Trevor Keels to campus, each a five-star that the Heels have offered. Each spending their own time to visit shows the mutual interest that they have in the school, too. Chet Holmgren is another that holds a UNC offer.
Of the group, Ingram is the likeliest to next join Styles as a Carolina commit, though I like Purdue's and Stanford’s chances more than UNC's. Beyond him, no others are UNC leans so I don’t see another commitment anytime soon. I would expect for more offers to be handed out in the coming weeks just as they did yesterday by offering Hunter Sallis.
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There were some whispers last week that Trevor Keels was on the cusp of his college commitment. That was not true. Are there others that have invested more time into his recruitment?
Among the perceived leaders for Keels are Villanova and Virginia. He has already taken an official visit to UVA, and also took one to Ohio State in the fall. It is never a smart thing to underestimate the chances of Duke or North Carolina, both of which signed one of Keels' high school teammates last year (Jeremy Roach at Duke, Anthony Harris at UNC).
However, if someone like Michigan wants to enter the race, I can see Keels being willing to hear what Juwan Howard and his staff have to say. It might only help their cause further that Keels will have two travel teammates, Hunter Dickinson and Terrance Williams, that will soon enroll at the Big Ten program.
I am not willing to bet against Duke, UNC, Villanova and Virginia, but Michigan could have a chance if it decides to place a priority on him in the coming months and Keels is willing to keep his recruitment open until the fall.
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Good question. My guess would be Wes Miller. He is a Carolina kid through and through. Whether it was winning a national championship at North Carolina as a player, working as an assistant at High Point, or now as the head coach at UNC-Greensboro, where he has led the Spartans to their most successful four-year stretch in school history.
Miller also has a strong tie to Wake Forest. His father, Kenneth D. Miller, is a Wake Forest trustee and the person that the Deacons’ practice gym is named after. If that doesn’t push things his way, then the Wake brass must feel good about other potential candidates that include Steve Forbes, who, from what I am told, has a great shot.
Winthrop’s Pat Kelsey, College of Charleston’s Earl Grant and UMBC’s Ryan Odom have been tossed around, as well. The idea of John Beilein taking over in Winston-Salem is more of a pipe dream, as is Shaka Smart, especially with the way that Texas finished the season and the triumphant recruiting win that he celebrated last week with the signing of five-star Greg Brown.
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Michigan's 2021 class may have to be a big one again for the Wolverines, especially if Isaiah Livers leaves. They will have to replace him, along with Austin Davis, Eli Brooks, Mike Smith and likely Franz Wagner, who could decide next season is his last in college before leaving for the NBA.
The Wolverines have laid down the proper groundwork with some of the best in the 2021 class nationally and a handful of others within their target areas. I would not sleep on their chances with five-star guard Kennedy Chandler. He is expected to narrow his school list in the coming days but there has been whispers that the Wolverines may be looking elsewhere at the guard position.
Jaden Hardy has said that he would like to visit his home-state Wolverines later in the fall, but for now, he is Kentucky’s to lose. It also just offered Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Barnes last week, along with top in-state guard Kobe Bufkin, the latter whom is someone I could see Michigan having a very good chance with.
Look for Michigan to hand out a few other offers in the coming weeks as it has kept in good touch with three-star guard Angelo Brizzi and top-five sophomore Caleb Houstan who could eventually reclassify. Jalen Warley is another it is very fond of and is just the type that could plug a variety of holes in the backcourt.
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You’re right. Jaden Akins is the lead guard Michigan State wants, but there is also not a great need beyond the position thanks to the recent commitment of Pierre Brooks. Sure, Michigan State would love to land five-star big man Charles Bediako, a prospect that I actually think they are out in the lead for.
I say all this because MSU is in an awesome spot and could be rather picky for who it pushes for filling its backcourt need. Max Christie is the better of the two prospects but that is not said to slight the abilities of Akins. Rather, it is more about addressing the idea of whether the Spartans want to hold Akins off from committing so that it could get a better sense of where Christie sits before his fall commitment.
That might be the debate discussed in East Lansing, and don’t forget they are also heavily in the mix with Kobe Bufkin. Do they jump at one of Bufkin or Akins, or do they wait it out with Christie?
Either way, Michigan State is in a great position. They need to secure a lead guard this spring for the upcoming season, but once it does that, don’t be surprised if they get a leg up in the 2022 class thanks to its lack of needs to address with the 2021 class in mind.
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I really like Richmond but it might be difficult to call a team in the Atlantic-10 that is slated to return literally everyone from its roster for next season as a Cinderella. The conference should not be as top-heavy next season, that is with a team like Dayton that relied on soon-to-be lottery pick Obi Toppin, to run through the league undefeated. However, there should be more than serviceable competition that would only enhance Richmond’s profile featuring the aforementioned Flyers, along with Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, St. Louis, and a few others.
However, if I had to go with a deep sleeper, I would pick Bowling Green. Mike Huger had his best team yet at BGSU last season and made for one of the more surprising recruiting wins this spring in keeping his star, Justin Turner, from transferring elsewhere.
He will return for his senior year and bring 90 starts alongside his name; he should be one of the best guards in college hoops. Classmates Daeqwon Plowden and Trey Diggs will only enhance their chances of success, while an incoming three-man class featuring Cameron Young should only help the cause.
