The Future of UNC Sports

The Future of UNC Basketball

By: The Halftime Buzz, (@halftimebuzz)

    According to 247Sports, UNC's basketball program has the second best 2020 recruiting class in the nation, just behind the University of Kentucky's. This class is highlighted by three top 30 ranked players and six top 100 ranked players. It starts with the #6 overall prospect, PG Caleb Love from St. Louis, Missouri. Caleb Love, at 6'3, is a score-first point guard and a great defender who has shown flashes of brilliance as a facilitator. Love posted stellar statistics last season, averaging 26.3 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 3.1 assists per game. Next is the #20 overall recruit, Day'Ron Sharpe, a physical big with a high motor who is an elite offensive and defensive rebounder. Sharpe averaged 12.8 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game on one of the best high school teams in the nation, Montverde Academy (alma mater to Ben Simmons and D'Angelo Russell). Many argue that Sharpe's biggest weakness is his touch around the basket but UNC's next best recruit, Walker Kessler, can make up for that. Kessler is a 7'0 center who is a capable shooter and can really stretch out the defense with his abilities. These three commits have great chances at being UNC's "big three" next season while the #54 overall recruit, RJ Davis, has a possible chance at starting, alongside Love, as a combo guard next season. Roy Williams is ecstatic to have the opportunity to coach such elite playmakers that will almost certainly turn around an underwhelming 2019 UNC team that went 14-19 on the season, finishing last in the ACC.

    Along with the remarkable 2020 recruiting class, UNC is also returning 3 of their starters from last season. These players include, Leaky Black, Armando Bacot, and, most importantly, Garrison Brooks. Brooks was the team's second leading scorer last season and leading rebounder who will definitely provide experience to this UNC team going into this upcoming season.

    Overall, Carolina already has a solid team to work with from their returners that is just being bolstered by their success with the 2020 recruiting class.

The Future of UNC Football

By: Sean Ebersbach, (@tarheelinsider)

   UNC had a surprising amount of success for their 2020 football recruiting class, but that was just the beginning for Mack Brown and his new staff. Carolina’s momentum hasn’t slowed down on the recruiting trail as they currently have the 3rd best class for 2021, only behind Ohio State and Tennessee. The class consists of 10 four stars and 4 three stars as 13 of the 14 are in-state commits from North Carolina. This recruiting class is far from over as Coach Brown is expected to land a few commits in the next coming weeks. That’s not the only improvement for UNC’s football program as they jumped from 2-9 to 7-6 with a bowl win in a matter of one season. Highly touted QB Sam Howell put the college football nation on notice as he recorded 38 passing touchdowns with 3,641 passing yards as just a true freshman. Not to mention, he was surrounded by elite receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome who each had 1,000+ receiving yards last season, as well as star running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams. These recruiting classes will add tremendous depth to an already deep team as they will return 75% of their starters from last season which ranks them 18th in CFB. Coach Mack Brown is bringing football back to Chapel Hill and it shows, as UNC was 1 of 8 teams in all of college football to sell out every home game. The recruiting classes have only added fuel to the fire to the big things coming to Chapel Hill in the near future thanks to Mack Brown and his amazing staff.