UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
UNC Basketball No Longer Boasts No. 1 Recruiting Class
UNC basketball's three-deep 2024 recruiting haul is formidable and versatile, with a top-100 addition at guard, forward, and center. But the collection of Our Saviour Lutheran (N.Y.) five-star guard Ian Jackson, Northwood (N.C.) five-star forward Drake Powell, and Link Academy (Mo.) four-star center James Brown no longer ranks No. 1.
No, after holding down that spot since Jackson, No. 10 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, committed to UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis in January, the Tar Heels fell to No. 2 in the country this week, per the composite rankings.
And the surprising new team at the top, Missouri, is precisely that: new to the top spot, period.
Second-year Missouri head coach Dennis Gates recently picked up his fourth 2024 pledge in Little Rock Central (Ark.) four-star forward Annor Boateng, No. 41 overall. Although none of Gates' other pieces rank higher than Boateng — not to mention that UNC has a 2-0 advantage in the five-star department — all are top-100 prospects.
Consider Missouri's minuscule lead over UNC: less than a one-point difference in their composite rating scores. However, it's also worth pointing out that the Tar Heels do not look like top contenders for any remaining undecided talents on the 2024 recruiting trail, at least not for now.
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On that note, fellow blueblood and recruiting powerhouse Duke sits at No. 3, with two five-star commits and a four-star in tow. And the Blue Devils appear far from finished raking in top-shelf 2024 prizes.
As 247Sports national recruiting expert Adam Finkelstein noted during his chat with Gary Parrish on the Eye On College Basketball podcast on Tuesday, UNC basketball's archrival looks like the frontrunner to land the nation's No. 1 senior in Montverde Academy (Fla.) forward Cooper Flagg and thereby claim the top-ranked class.
"I think it will be Duke," Finkelstein forecasted to Parrish, mentioning Duke's projected need for loads of recruits due to possibly losing its entire starting five next spring. "Duke is the perceived for Cooper Flagg right now...
"They've still got as many five-star targets left on the board as anyone in the country, and they have to land, I think, at least two more of them. So that would give them four five-star prospects, and I think that would be good enough for the No. 1 class in the country."
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Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI.com for more UNC basketball recruiting news.
