North Carolina has its sights set on a new target in the class of 2019.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have one of the deepest and most talented back courts in college basketball, touting multiple five-star talents and the 2017 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
When it comes to the Tar Heels’ front court, though, there are some questions that still need to be answered. Namely, how Roy Williams will address the loss of three starters from last year’s national championship team.
North Carolina lost much its depth and experience with the departure of seniors Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. The Tar Heels will also be without the star-power of first team All-American Justin Jackson, who left for the NBA after a terrific junior season in Chapel Hill.
Those losses, along with the team’s current lack of size and experience in the front court, has left North Carolina looking noticeably different than it has in years past.
In the months since cutting down the nets and hoisting the championship trophy, Williams has tirelessly recruited for the classes of 2018 and 2019. He’s even spent a little time checking in on some of the top prospects in the class of 2020.
And while the Hall-of-Fame coach continues to search for talented guards, the majority of his time recently has been spent on rebuilding the daunting interior that North Carolina basketball fans have become so accustomed to seeing.
That search continued on Thursday when Williams visited Precious Achiuwa, a five-star prospect from the class of 2019.
Achiuwa, a 6-foot-7, 175-pound small forward out of St Benedict’s Preparatory School in the Bronx, is the latest in a long line of talented big men that UNC has targeted in recent months.
The high school junior is currently ranked 14th in the class of 2019 according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s a top-5 player at his position and in the state of New York.
He’s got offers from a number of programs including Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Seton Hall.
Despite their success in the NCAA Tournament, it’s no secret that the Tar Heels have struggled bringing in top tier recruits over the last few years. Achiuwa would go a long to helping reverse that trend for the Tar Heels, both on the court and in helping to lure other big name recruits to Chapel Hill.
