It was a much quieter summer for Hubert Davis on the recruiting trail this year, as compared to last year, as last summer Davis was trying to rebuild the roster in his image, as he prepared to enter his first season as head coach. This summer, Davis was blessed with returning four starters from a team that was a rebound away from a national championship and was able to replace the lone starter very early, via the transfer portal. Factor in an incoming recruiting class of four talented players, and Davis put all his focus and attention into the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes.
There was some noise on the recruiting trail when Gregory “GG” Jackson decommitted from UNC over the summer, and reclassified and committed to South Carolina. That decision took some steam out of UNC on the recruiting trail, but Davis and his staff stayed the course, and didn’t get discouraged. Zayden High is a 6-9 power forward from Texas, who will play for national prep power Arizona Compass Prep this season. He is ranked as the No 55 player overall in the 2023 class while being ranked as the No. 12 power forward, and the No. 4 player from the state of Texas. UNC offered High back in early September, and during the final weekend of the month, High made the trip to Chapel Hill, where not only was he impressed, but so was his dad. Last night, after more than a full month of recruitment by Sean May and company, High committed to UNC, becoming the first player since Justin Jackson to commit to UNC as a high school prospect from the state of Texas.
High committed to Carolina over Michigan, Villanova among others. The vision for High is to fill the void that’s been left behind by Brady Manek and will be filled on an interim basis this year by transfer Pete Nance. At 6-9, High is a perimeter forward, that’s more than comfortable playing beyond the three-point line.
High now joins five-star Simeon Wilcher as the current commits in the 2023 class, one that Hubert Davis will spend the rest of the year putting the finishing touches on.
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