REPORT: UNC basketball a ‘serious threat’ to acquire five-star recruit

While they are currently assembling their 2025 recruiting class, Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels have already determined who their primary targets are. Isiah Harwell, a five-star shooting guard, is one of the primary targets.

With 21 offers in his recruitment, the Utah native is regarded as one of the best players in the 2025 recruiting class. While Harwell hasn’t had much activity in recruitment, one recruiting specialist thinks a leader may have developed.

In an article about Harwell’s recruiting, Rob Cassidy of Rivals.com identified Gonzaga as the front-runner. The article’s most important passage, though, is when he refers to the Tar Heels as a “serious threat” to land him in this recruiting:

Harwell has called North Carolina a “dream school” and says he began rooting for the Tar Heels as a child in a contrarian effort to spite his older brothers, who supported Duke. Whatever the reason, his UNC fanhood formed a stranglehold, as the Tar Heels shot to the top of the five-star’s list as soon as they began to show interest.

Harwell has already been on campus in Chapel Hill for a multi-day unofficial visit and is expected to return for an official at yet-to-be-determined date. If such a trip takes place, it seems possible that North Carolina will pull even with the Bulldogs at the top of Harwell’s recruitment. There isn’t much to separate the two programs, so listing Gonzaga as the slight favorite is simply a product of the blue chip prospect’s upcoming official to Spokane.

Harwell still has an official visit to Gonzaga arranged for later in February, but he has rescheduled one for Cal as well. In 2023, he paid an unofficial visit to UNC.

According to the 247Sports recruiting rankings, 6-foot-6, 200-pound Harwell is rated No. 7 overall, No. 2 among shooting guards, and No. 1 in the state of Utah.