Five-Star Recruit Nassir Little Commits to North Carolina

Little is thought to be the player Miami and Arizona were in a literal bidding war for.

Five-star forward Nassir Little, the number nine overall player in the class of 2018 (per 247sports) and the number four small forward, announced his commitment to North Carolina on Wednesday. 

"I just love coach [Roy] Williams," Little told ESPN of his choice. "He really cares about the players off the court, which is important. They're a basketball school, which is something I wanted to be a part of. Coach Roy really knows how to win. I love winning. I really do. And that's important to me."

Little is thought to be the player Adidas officials wanted to pay $150,000 to commit to Miami over Arizona. In the suit, an Adidas official states that Arizona had offered $150,000 to "Player-12," thought to be Nassir. Nassir's AAU program director, James Brad Augustine, was one of ten men arrested last week, and Miami and Arizona were thought to be the favorites to land Nassir before the suit went public.

After the findings of the suit were announced, Nassir said he removed both schools from his list. 

"For me, I just didn't want to be mixed in a situation where any of the accusations seemed like it was true," Little told ESPN. "Because it wasn't. Every school I was considering was because I had a genuine interest in them. North Carolina had been the school I wanted, regardless. I just block it out, they can say they want. I just focus on myself, and do what my heart desires."

North Carolina was not included in any of the three suits stemming from the F.B.I.'s two-year investigation into college basketball.

"They've never helped me get any player, never insinuated, never done anything," UNC head coach Williams told ESPN on Tuesday.

"I've dealt with Nike and Jordan Brand since I came back here, but we never even discuss things like that. So I know it's foreign to me."

Little joins a North Carolina team fresh off its sixth national championship. With Nassir joining fellow five-star Coby White in committing to North Carolina, the Tar Heels now have 247sports' top ranked recruiting class for 2018.