UNC Basketball May Lose Recruiting Race to Fellow ACC School

Recent chatter suggests the UNC basketball program is not the favorite in the final days of Isaiah Denis' recruitment.

UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Davidson Day School (N.C.) senior and UNC basketball recruiting target Isaiah Denis is set to announce his college choice on the 247Sports YouTube channel at 4 p.m. ET Saturday. The 6-foot-5, 175-pound four-star guard is down to a top six of UNC, Wake Forest, Miami, Ohio State, Pitt, and Tennessee.

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Although Denis appeared to be a Tar Heel lean in recent months, reports this week indicate that fourth-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis and his staff may no longer be in full pursuit of the elite bucket-getter.

On Wednesday evening, HS Top Recruits reported that "Wake Forest is making significant movement with Denis." Plus, two of the insider account's sources noted that "they believe UNC has backed off a bit" in the in-state sweepstakes.

Isaiah Denis ranks No. 62 overall, No. 9 among combo guards, and No. 2 in North Carolina on the 247Sports 2025 Composite.

He checked out the UNC basketball program on an official visit in late September. He also visited each of his other finalists.

For now, no experts have entered picks into the 247Sports Crystal Ball or On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine for Denis. Meanwhile, the lone Rivals FutureCast prediction points to the Tar Heels coming out on top, but that forecast popped up way back in August.

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Stay tuned to North Carolina Tar Heels On SI for more on the Isaiah Denis sweepstakes and other UNC basketball recruiting news.