Jairus Hamilton, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from the Concord (N.C.) Cannon School, became the latest sophomore to pick up a scholarship offer from North Carolina.
The offer was reported by Scout.com.
“This offer is testament to how hard Jairus has worked, to the kind of person he is and to his obvious long-term potential,” Che Roth, Head Coach at Concord (N.C.) Cannon School, told Scout. “I’ve said it before, he’s a check-all-the-boxes kid and they don’t recruit any kids that aren’t. It’s a testament to Coach [Roy] Williams and his staff, doing their homework and building the relationship early. Certainly Assistant Coach (Steve) Robinson has a done one hell of a job leading the efforts to recruit him. They’ve put a premium in the class of 2018 and keeping the best talent in the state, which is going to be the best talent in the nation, here in North Carolina.”
Hamilton is the third sophomore to commit or be offered by UNC this year,.
Rechon “Leaky” Black, a 6-foot-7 point guard from Concord (N.C.), committed earlier this month and Devon Dotson, a 6-2 point guard from Charlotte Providence Day also holds an offer.
Sophomore offers had been a rarity for North Carolina, raising speculation that he is feeling some pressure after missing out on the top in-state recruits last year. Uncertainty over potential NCAA sanctions following the UNC academic-athletic scandal may also be forcing Williams to offer earlier than he’s accustomed to.
North Carolina high schools do seem to have an unusually good crop of players in the class of 2018, however, so the early offers could pay off for UNC, which also has a impressive recruiting class for 2017.
