UNC basketball recruiting: North Carolina offers 2018 PF Simisola Shittu

UNC basketball’s 2018 recruitment class is currently built on the foundation of two extremely promising back-court players that look to make a name for themselves when they arrive in Chapel Hill. In an attempt to add balance to the front court, Roy Williams has offered power forward Simisola Shittu.

Five-star combo guard Coby White and four-star point guard Rechon Black made their verbal commitments long ago to attend UNC for the 2018-19 season, leaving fewer questions in terms of how much depth will remain following the 2017-18 season once Joel Berry II and Theo Pinson graduate.

Where there are questions for UNC, however, is at the four and five spots. While there won’t be a shortage of players staying, there is a lot of questions surrounding the talent level of the bigs for the 2017-18 season (except Luke Maye, as everyone knows what to expect from him).

One thing that Roy Williams has not been shy about doing is creating plenty of depth in the front court, and that is what he is attempting to do for the 2018-19 season with Shittu.

According to sources at Inside Carolina, Shittu had become more and more prevalent on UNC’s radar, and the coaching staff recently had some meaningful conversations with the six--foot-ten power forward. Roy Williams saw Shittu play multiple times in July in what was a busy traveling month for him, and had also been in contact with Shittu’s camp.

Shittu’s game fits in really well with how Roy Williams likes his big men to play. He is a strong big that plays very hard around the glass. He is a very good rebounder and has emerged as a multi-positional defender, which also goes hand-in-hand with the “point forward” label that has been attached to him by some scouts.

One of the downsides in his game is his perimeter shooting, but this is something that likely isn’t a huge concern for Roy Williams as long as he can develop/maintain a solid jumper from mid-range. Another area that could use improvement is his ball-handling skills, as he isn’t very strong with his left hand when it comes to driving or finishing at the basket. Nevertheless, this is a player that should be able to make an impact right away with whichever school he chooses to attend.

This summer, Simi Shittu has emerged as a hot commodity amongst college programs across the nation. He has received almost 20 different scholarship offers, most notably from programs like Arizona, Louisville, NC State, Syracuse, and UCLA. Kentucky and Duke have also started to take notice in Shittu, so it will be interesting to see if they decide to throw their hats in the ring to offer the fourth-ranked power forward in the 2018 recruiting class.

If UNC manages to recruit Shittu, it would be a huge addition to what is already a promising 2018 recruiting class. Stay tuned to THB for more updates on Shittu’s recruitment, as well as additional updates on the 2018 recruiting class.