UNC Basketball Follows Duke Into Battle for High-Octane Five-Star
![UNC basketball recruiting target Jordan Smith Jr. UNC basketball recruiting target Jordan Smith Jr.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2910,h_1636,x_0,y_464/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_tar_heels/01j3bzndhgx1ctqj5b4h.jpg)
Five-star prospect Jordan Smith Jr. attends Paul VI Catholic High School (Va.), which has produced four Duke basketball players this decade: Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels, along with 2024-25 Blue Devil freshmen Patrick Ngongba II and Darren Harris. Yet despite the pipeline that archrival Jon Scheyer enjoys in Durham, UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis has officially entered the Jordan Smith Jr. sweepstakes.
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On Friday afternoon, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard, who has already climbed four spots this summer to No. 8 overall on the 247Sports 2026 Composite by putting his attack-mode repertoire on full display in grassroots action, became the Blue Devils' first 2026 offer recipient.
And on Sunday evening, Smith revealed on social media that his offer sheet now includes UNC:
blessed to receive an offer from the university of north carolina #agtg pic.twitter.com/Y7CXv4ADUP
— Jordan Smith Jr (@sm23itty) July 21, 2024
Just before Smith began building that Tobacco Road offer collection, Rivals' Rob Cassidy forecasted what ultimately unfolded in the growing race, although his "down the road" timeline was a bit off considering it was only hours after Cassidy published his article when Duke extended an offer and a couple of days later when UNC followed suit:
"Louisville, Providence, Miami, Syracuse, Houston, Michigan, and others are all involved with Smith. Expect to see some blueblood involvement down the road, however, as nearby Duke and North Carolina have been kicking the tires on the guard's recruitment through backchannels."
Jordan Smith Jr. became the fourth among current rising high school juniors to land an offer from Hubert Davis.