North Carolina received a commitment from JR point guard Marcus Paige today, the first of what is likely to be a large haul for the 2012 recruiting class. Paige, at this point is a fringe 5-star prospect who is ultra-quick and is considered to have a good shooting stroke. His biggest weakness is, well, his weakness (5'11, 155 lbs), but the Tar Heels should have a good answer for that in the name of Jonas Sahratian.
According to Dave Telep:
At last year's NBA Camp, current NBA players singled out Paige as the best one-on-one player in camp. The lefty, despite being one of the youngest players in attendance, took control of his club and demonstrated the ability to lead a team and keep those around him involved. A month later, he knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer in a contest at the AAU Nationals. Whether as a scorer or runner of a club, Paige scores high marks.
More importantly, Telep also hints that Paige could be instrumental in helping recruiting other players to Chapel Hill:
For the Tar Heels, Paige thinks he can help in recruiting right off the bat. J.P. Tokoto (Menomonee Falls, Wisc./Menomonee Falls) is also a prime UNC target. He has a relationship with UNC's newest commitment.
"J.P. was on my team at Nike Camp and we have a pretty good relationship so I might try and talk to him a little," Paige said. "I think J.P. has a chance if I can talk to him a little bit."
It is clear that Paige was a big priority for Roy, as he did all (or at least most) of the recruiting personally. Looking back to the spring of 2005, the commitment of Ty Lawson got the ball rolling on what ended up being one of the most talented recruiting classes in UNC history. We can only hope history is quick to repeat itself.