Recruit’s decision is a boost for North Carolina, a blow to Virginia
When sweet-shooting wing Kenny Williams committed to North Carolina on Saturday, it was a potential coup for the Tar Heels for two reasons.
It provides North Carolina a pure shooter who could crack the rotation as soon as next season if he spreads the floor with his 3-point prowess and proves to be a competent defender. It also prevents fellow ACC and national title contender Virginia from adding a recruit who could have addressed its biggest weakness.
Outside shooting is a concern for both the Tar Heels and Cavaliers entering a season in which both should begin in the top 10 in the polls.
North Carolina lacked any consistent shooters around Marcus Paige two years ago and still finished 256th in the nation in 3-pointers made last season despite the emergence of Justin Jackson and Nate Britt as threats from the perimeter. Virginia tailed off dramatically from behind the arc after Justin Anderson went down with a fractured pinkie in February and then the Cavaliers lost Anderson to the NBA draft last month.
Given their need for a perimeter shooter, Williams was an appealing option for both the Tar Heels and Cavs after he asked to be released from his letter of intent at VCU last month when coach Shaka Smart left for Texas. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is Rivals.com’s No. 89 recruit in the class of 2015 and shot the ball so well for his AAU team that veteran coach Boo Williams said J.J. Redick is the only player he’s coached with a better jumper.
Williams visited both Chapel Hill and Charlottesville before selecting North Carolina on Saturday, calling it his dream school. He’ll battle the likes of Britt, Theo Pinson and Joel Berry II for playing time alongside Paige in the backcourt. Virginia meanwhile will have to hope that Marial Shayock develops enough to replicate some of Anderson’s production at wing and Evan Nolte rediscovers the jump shot that abandoned him last season and emerges as a capable perimeter threat off the bench.
A commitment from a borderline top 100 recruit isn’t typically cause for wild celebration at North Carolina, but forgive the Tar Heels for feeling good about this one. The threat of potential looming sanctions from the school’s academic fraud scandal has made North Carolina an easy target for negative recruiting and has prevented Roy Williams from landing the elite prospects he pursued for this class.
Nonetheless, North Carolina remains loaded for next season, and the addition of Williams only adds to that. He provides the outside shooting the Tar Heels need and prevents a rival from addressing a weakness.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
