North Carolina’s frontcourt plans are starting to come into focus, and the Tar Heels may have put themselves in position to land a pair of premium big-man targets.
Earlier this week, UNC found out that Darius Wabbington had trimmed his list to five teams after dropping Louisville, with the Tar Heels still in the mix. Then on Thursday, reports surfaced that North Carolina is set to host ESPN’s No. 3 overall prospect in next year’s class, forward CJ Rosser, this weekend.
Rosser, a 6-foot-9, 195-pound power forward from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, is weighing North Carolina, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Kentucky, and USC. Among that group, UNC will be the first finalist to get him on an official visit, which matters when the competition includes two elite programs. Malone also made his interest clear by bringing Rosser in for an unofficial visit in July.
That push makes sense because the Tar Heels’ biggest question entering the season sits in the frontcourt, especially at center. Cameron Fens was ruled ineligible to play in games, though that could still change, and the other options - Sayon Keita, Alexandros Samodurov, and Cade Bennerman - have yet to log a minute at the college level.
Malone and his staff appear intent on making sure that area is not a soft spot next season. With Wabbington and Rosser both having North Carolina among their finalists, the Tar Heels have a real shot at upgrading the front line in a major way.
There’s also the question of who stays and who goes. Samodurov and Keita are both top-tier overseas talents, but it is not certain either one will be back in Chapel Hill next offseason.
Keita is the likeliest to enter next year’s NBA Draft. If North Carolina were to land both Wabbington and Rosser and also keep Samodurov, that would shape up as one of the best frontcourt rotations in the country.
It’s a different build than what Malone did with the backcourt this offseason, when he reshaped that group entirely through the transfer portal. This time, the front line could be built through recruiting. After one offseason in place, UNC’s staff seems to have a much clearer sense of how to attack the next cycle, and going hard after two of the best frontcourt players in the class is a strong sign.
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For a staff trying to sell both the present and the future, Wilsons ties to the program give the weekend an extra layer of credibility. UNC is still fighting other schools for both five-star targets, and having a player with his profile around campus only helps the pitch as the Tar Heels look to strengthen their next class. [Read more 🡒]
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The visit list says plenty about the competition around him, with Stanford, Iowa, UCLA and Gonzaga also in the mix. UNCs staff already got a live look at Davis during a recent game, and the next step will be turning that scouting trip into a stronger connection once he gets on campus, where the Tar Heels will try to show why they belong in the conversation for one of the countrys best young point guards. [Read more 🡒]
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Diggs is currently projected to lean toward staying close to home in Arizona, where he has an official visit lined up, and that adds another layer of difficulty for UNC. The Tar Heels are still in the mix, which matters, but they are not viewed as the front-runner right now, leaving Hubert Davis and his staff with more work to do if they want to make this a real battle down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]