UNC basketball recruiting: 2019 PG Jeremiah Francis includes North Carolina in his top 10

Just as we’re getting ready to talk about the 2017-2018 basketball season, Jeremiah Francis is looking ahead to 2019. The high school point guard released his top 10 over the weekend, and North Carolina made his list. Also among the finalists are Dayton, Florida State, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Purdue, TCU, West Virginia, and Missouri.

The six-foot-three, 190-pound athlete is a four-star recruit who ranks 61st overall on the national composite for the 2019 recruiting class. He is considered the seventh best point guard in his class and is the top talent out of his home state of Ohio.

After generating interest from nearly two dozen schools, Francis narrowed his choices. He first visited Chapel Hill in June before they offered him at the beginning of August. Meanwhile, the Pickerington native has been thoroughly courted by West Virginia since last summer. At the moment, Indiana is considered to be the favorite to land him, but the Tar Heels have plenty of time to make their pitch before he makes a final decision.

Getting a commitment from Francis would be a dream come true for Roy Williams and the Tar Heels, but it might be a tough sell because of the team’s depth chart. Joel Berry II will be gone after this season, but UNC is expected to see an influx in top talent in the backcourt over the next few years. Point guard Jalek Felton will make his collegiate debut this year, and Seventh Woods should see more minutes. In 2018, the impressive duo of Coby White and Rechon Black will be making their debut.

It would seem like the Tar Heels have the position under control for the next several seasons, but you never know what is going to happen. For all we know, someone could transfer or turn pro, so it’s still important to focus on Francis, even if he’s a few years off still.

In the end, recent success on the court and in the draft could be key to landing Francis. A top talent like him can’t ignore the recent success of Tony Bradley, proving that UNC can be a place for one-and-dones. There’s also the potential landing spot for Berry in next year’s draft to look toward. As long as North Carolina can get past this NCAA investigation, there should be plenty of good to attract him to North Carolina.