Where has Roy Williams been anyway? How about recruiting.
When I saw the terrific UNCUT interview moderated by Bubba Cunningham with Carolina coaches Courtney Banghart, Anson Dorrance and Mack Brown, my first reaction was, “Where is Ol’ Roy?”
Well, during the lockdown for the COVID 19 pandemic, Williams has been spending a lot of time quarantined at his home in the North Carolina mountains. But, apparently, he hasn’t been idle.
When Brandon Huffman and Jeremiah Francis announced they were transferring, the Tar Heels’ coach found himself with two available scholarships. And he swooped in to land Minnesota shooting guard Kerwin Walton, a 6-5 four-star recruit who last visited Chapel Hill in November of 2019 before the season unfolded that may have convinced him how much Williams’ program really needed him.
Walton had more than a dozen or so scholarship offers, but most recruiting gurus figured he was going to Minnesota to play for Richard Pitino, the son of you know who. After all, staying close to home these days has become a way of life more than ever.
But through phone calls, texts and regular contact with the Tar Heel players of the present and future, Walton decided to become the sixth member of the 2021 freshman class, which has now risen to No. 2 in the country, matching the football team’s current ranking. Joining forwards Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler, and guards Caleb Love, R.J. Davis and “Puff” Johnson, Walton vaulted the latest Tar Heel class from third to second in the national recruiting polls.
Walton committed on April 27 and signed his letter of intent Thursday. He averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds as a senior in high school, and his reputed shooting range adds to an incoming class that will further correct the biggest weakness of the 2020 team, which shot 42 percent from the floor and barely 30 percent from 3-point range.
So Ol’ Roy may have been out of sight for some, but by the time he turns 70 this August, he will be locked and loaded for the new season when his team will take the court back on the minds of all.
(featured photo via GoHeels.com)
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