It has been a busy month of recruiting for Carolina Basketball, and just about every program on campus, as coaches were able to host recruits on visits for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Hubert Davis has been very busy working on the 2022 class, while also getting a head start on the 2023 class as well. But this past week was an important one as UNC was in the running for two prospects, and they got involved with a highly sought after transfer.
When UNC got in the running for Seth Trimble, the notion was that it was Michigan, and everyone else. Trimble himself made it known that the Wolverines were his preferred choice, as Juwan Howard has built the program into a contender that’s recruiting on a national level. Trimble took his official back on June 17, the same time five-star point guard Jaden Bradley was on campus as well. Trimble was also accompanied by his older brother, and former Tar Heel J.P. Tokoto, helping sell the vision of playing high level college basketball in Chapel Hill. Still, after Trimble’s visit, the perceived favorite was Michigan, until he announced he would commit less than a week after being on campus at UNC. Trimble was shortly granted multiple crystal balls to North Carolina, from 247Sports, which turned out to be true this past Wednesday when he officially committed to the Tar Heels. The commitment of Trimble gives Hubert Davis two in his first recruiting class as the Tar Heels head coach. More importantly, it establishes himself and his staff as a recruiting force since the retirement of Roy Williams.
Carolina was hoping to make it two commits on Saturday when Justin Taylor announced, but he’s going to Syracuse. UNC had made his final five schools, which included three other schools from the ACC, but they had backed off him recently after seeing him play live in person for the first time. Taylor would’ve gone a long way to shoring up UNC’s perimeter talent, as the program has lacked an impact player at the 3/4 spot since the departure of Cam Johnson. Knowing that they weren’t likely to land Taylor anyways, UNC has since offered both Cam Whitmore and Tyler Nickel, talented forwards for the next recruiting cycle.
On Friday night, Dawson Garcia, a 6-11 big man from Marquette, entered the transfer portal, while also weighing his professional basketball options. Garcia was recruited by UNC and Roy Williams but opted for Marquette due to the lack of potential playing time at UNC. Flashforward after a season where he averaged 13.0 points and 6.6 rebounds, he’s going to be highly recruited as a transfer. UNC has a void of front-court depth, after losing multiple players themselves to the transfer portal, and Day’Ron Sharpe to the NBA. Carolina has made contact with Garcia and will be a program to monitor moving forward.
Yesterday UNC hosted their final official visit as Issac Traudt was on campus. Traudt is a 6-9 power forward from Grand Island, New Hampshire, and fits what Hubert Davis wants in his frontcourt moving forward. He visited North Carolina, after visiting Michigan State, Virginia, Nebraska, and Creighton respectively.
Make sure to stay tuned to the Heel Tough Blog for the latest news around Carolina Basketball recruiting.
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