Welcome to the THB weekly recruiting update! This week we will recap everything that has taken place in both football and basketball recruiting, and we also have some updated rankings for the 2020 basketball prospects. Let’s kick things off by talking a little football.

Football

• As many expected, 2020 four-star safety Ja’Qurious Conley announced last Thursday that he will be attending UNC next fall. Mack Brown won Conley in a recruiting battle against Duke, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech, with the Gamecocks being the non-UNC favorite. Conley spoke with Inside Carolina shortly after committing about why he decided to become a Tar Heel:

“Honestly, [it was] the energy, the vibes from Mack Brown, and most of the commits -- I watched them [on film] -- being able to play with those guys,” Conley told Inside Carolina. “Me playing with [the commits] is going to increase my game.”

Conley’s commitment gives the Tar Heels the 17th best recruiting class in the country, and the 4th best in the ACC. The three ACC teams ahead of them are Clemson, Florida State, and Miami, with Clemson being the only team to so far to land any five-star recruits.

• USA Today released a report Tuesday that spending in college football recruiting is on the rise. This is especially true of UNC, as they have increased their spending by 82.5% between 2013 and 2018. During the 2018 fiscal year, the Heels spent $984,871 on recruiting, which is the third highest in the ACC and 21st nationally. Now that Mack Brown has returned, it’s very possible that we could see that number hit the $1,000,000+ mark, as he continues his quest to win back the state of North Carolina and land top prospects within the footprint he has established.
• As great as the 2020 recruiting class has been going for the Heels, it could get much better depending on how things play out with five-star defensive end Desmond Evans. Considered as a favorite to commit to UNC, Evans plans to release his top five list soon, which may include schools like Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State. This is a huge situation to keep an eye on, because if Mack Brown can land that high quality of a recruit over traditional powerhouse teams, Carolina football would enter a stratosphere that they haven’t entered since...well..Mack Brown was here the first time. Remind me what the previous coach’s name was again?

Basketball

• 2021 five-star prospect Paolo Banchero has scheduled five of his official visits that will take place between September and January. One of those visits will be to UNC on September 27th, which is the same weekend that Late Night with Roy Williams will take place, as well as the football game against Clemson. Other schools that Banchero scheduled visits with are Kentucky, Duke, Tennessee, and Washington, who is currently considered the favorite according to the 247 Sports Crystal Ball.
• A week before Banchero’s arrives in Chapel Hill, four-star point guard Caleb Love will be in town for his official visit. It was announced this past weekend that Love will officially visit UNC as well as Indiana, Louisville, and Kansas. Arizona, the remaining school on his list, did not receive an official visit, but there may be an unofficial visit planned in the near future. Love is the fourth-best point guard in the country, and is the 24th best player in the country according to the 247 Sports Composite.
• The last official visit that was scheduled recently was by four-star point guard R.J. Davis. He plans to visit Chapel Hill the weekend of October 11th and also plans to visit Pitt, Marquette, and had previously visited Georgetown. Davis is currently a favorite to play for the Panthers, but we could see things become a bit less clear following his visits. Davis is the 69th best player in the country, and is the 8th best combo guard.
• The one big-name player that scheduled official visits that did not schedule an official visit with UNC is Greg Brown. The top ten recruit announced that he will take visits to Auburn, Memphis, Texas, but still hasn’t worked out the logistics with UNC and Kentucky. Brown’s father spoke with 247 Sports and had this to say about getting things worked out with the two schools:

“We haven’t set up the Kentucky one yet and we haven’t set up North Carolina, but North Carolina we will try to do those one of their big games,” he explained. “We’ve gone to the Duke game, so I would probably want to see them play Virginia at home if that happens or another game. Then kind of pick and choose a Kentucky game and what sets up to be a big match up.”

• Finally, as mentioned at the beginning of this article we have a number of updates in the recruiting rankings for the 2020 class. Check out the recruiting board below and see what changed, as a few players that were listed as four-star prospects moved up enough to earn their fifth star.