The five-star wing is on the verge of deciding where he will attend school next year.
Kevin Knox, the name coveted around the basketball world, is nearing a decision about where he will play college ball next season. The decision is said to be down to five schools: North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke, Missouri, and Florida State.
All these teams will get one last chance to pitch Knox on their program with five in-home visits between yesterday and today. These visits represent a final push for a player that any program would love to have.
For the Tar Heels, Knox would step seamlessly into the wing role occupied by Justin Jackson on the reigning national championship team. Jackson is headed off to the NBA, but what he was able to do at Carolina this year was no doubt carefully considered by Knox. It is easy for Roy Williams to point to Jackson’s success as what Knox can do in Carolina blue.
Knox was in the building when UNC brought out Michael Jordan at halftime of the Duke game on Senior Night in Chapel Hill. He watched the Tar Heels take down Duke that night. Knox very likely watched the Heels’ incredible run through the tournament, which should serve as a strong recruiting pitch in and of itself.
Williams being able to show Knox how he can step into a team that just won the national championship, lost the very player whose role he would fill, and could have a decent chance of returning to the Final Four for the third straight year is pretty compelling. It seems like, from a biased standpoint, that Knox was never serious about Carolina if none of that is effective.
From the outside, everyone is looking to see if Ol’ Roy can land a big time recruit again. They are looking to see if Carolina has gotten off the black list for potential one-and-dones who are concerned about whether or not the Tar Heels will be punished by the NCAA. There are those ready to fire up hot takes about Williams and the program if Knox chooses elsewhere, to be certain.
As our own Jake Lawrence wrote, a union between Knox and Carolina could be mutually beneficial for both parties. Knox would fit beautifully into what is already a strong foundation for a team that could make another run at it next year. We should know soon whether or not he agrees.
