Just In: Tar Heel Adds In Another Strong Elite Player

admin | February 27, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Just In: Tar Heel Adds In Another Strong Elite Player

UNC basketball isn’t the only big-time program in hot pursuit of 2025 five-star Jasper Johnson.

Link Academy (Mo.) junior Jasper Johnson, who grew up a fan of the Tar Heels and is now a teammate to 2024 UNC basketball signee James Brown, hasn’t publicly cut any of the top 10 suitors he named in late January. But the 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard has hinted at potential top contenders via his scheduled visits to date.

Johnson, a five-star prospect ranking No. 12 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, checked out UNC earlier this month. It was an official visit coinciding with the Tar Heels’ home win over archrival Duke.

He’s also been to Missouri, West Virginia, Kentucky, and, most recently, Auburn.

And according to a report from On3’s Joe Tipton on Friday morning, Johnson has now locked in a sixth official visit in his recruitment. He’ll take a trip to Baylor the first weekend in March.

The four schools in his top 10 that haven’t landed a scheduled visit from him are Louisville, Alabama, Southern Cal, and Kansas.

Although Johnson has not entirely ruled out the possibility of reclassifying to 2024, he recently said that his plan, at least for now, is to remain in 2025.

Eight others in his class, all of the five-star variety, join him on the UNC basketball staff’s offer sheet. None have committed to the Tar Heels or eliminated them from contention.

UNC basketball’s 96 points on Saturday afternoon far outweighed the 81 points the now-No. 10 Tar Heels (20-6, 12-3 ACC) allowed at unranked Virginia Tech (15-11, 7-8 ACC). All in all, it was an impressive bounceback performance after falling at Syracuse earlier in the week.

RELATED: UNC Big Man Armando Bacot Gets Back to Outworking Foes

And it’s safe to say offense hasn’t been a glaring issue across UNC’s 3-3 stretch following its 10-game winning streak. But on the defensive end, third-year head coach Hubert Davis is looking to reinstill habits in his players during their first full week of practice without a game in months.

Consider that the Tar Heels didn’t allow any foes to surpass the 70-point mark while reeling off 10 in a row. Now, they’ve given up more than 70 in each of their past six contests, and four of those opponents have eclipsed 80.

Davis addressed the suddenly recurring defensive concerns while speaking to the media via his ACC teleconference on Monday:

“In that 10-game stretch, from a defensive standpoint, I thought we were really locked in, particularly [in the] halfcourt, defending without fouling, finishing possessions with a rebound, protecting the paint, and also protecting the three. Those are things that, in these last six games or whatever, we have done but not as consistently well.

“And those are things that we’ve talked about as a team and as a group that we’ve got to get back to…just being more consistent and sound from the fundamental standpoint of defending without fouling, protecting the paint, helping the helper — the little things that make big things happen.