UNC Basketball: Wendell Moore commits to Duke

Monday night, five-start 2019 prospect Wendell Moore announced that he will play for Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils next season.

Moore’s announcement precedes his scheduled UNC official visit this Friday, which is also the annual Late Night with Roy scrimmage and the first time fans will get to see Roy Williams Court firsthand. This will be the first recruit that Duke has gotten to commit for the 2019 season, and could be the spark that they need to get the ball rolling following the exit of one of their top recruiters, Jeff Capel. Top recruits remaining on Coach K’s list include Vernon Carey, Isaiah Stewart, Matthew Hurt, Cole Anthony, and Boogie Ellis.

For UNC fans, there are probably two questions following this commitment: how much does this one hurt, and what is the future outlook for this recruiting class? To answer the first question, the level of pain is unknown until the Heels know exactly what they have at wing next year. The Heels have capable players in Brandon Robinson and Rechon “Leaky” Black. Robinson took some nice steps forward last year, and shows that he has potential to be a reliable scoring option after making 39% of his three-point attempts last season. As far as Leaky goes, fans will want to watch how Roy uses him closely as he basically has another versatile player at his disposal following the exit of Theo Pinson.

As far as recruiting goes, there are a couple recruits that UNC personnel and fans should feel good about so far. As we’ve reported, Cole Anthony is being recruited hard by both Armando Bacot and Roy Williams, and following his official visit 247 Sports has given UNC a 67% edge over the other schools seeking his services. Another player that Roy Williams has been paying extra attention to lately is Keion Brooks, who right now is projected as a favorite to play for Indiana, which is also his home state. Inside Carolina posted a Q&A session that they had with him earlier today, and he told IC that Roy has went as far as bringing his entire coaching staff to see him play. If UNC can continue to apply pressure and also make sure things go well during his official visit, we may see projections change a bit in the next month or so.

Finally, there is four-star combo guard Boogie Ellis. Ellis is another player who UNC has been very interested in lately, but right now is projected to stay at home during college. His hometown is San Diego, CA, and USC right now has the edge in the recruiting battle. One has to wonder if Cole Anthony’s decision, whenever that were to take place, would have any impact on where Ellis decides to go. Only time will tell, but if the past couple months are any indication, there’s always the chance that he may not even wait that long to make his decision.

Overall, Wendell Moore’s commitment is one that was expected after Coach K presented him with the offer, and it wouldn’t be shocking if Roy Williams has known for a while as well. Life goes on, as does recruiting, and we wish Moore as much luck as we can wish someone in the wrong color of blue.