Edit Lists Galore, Sorting Out The Recent Frenzy

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last month, not even coming up for oxygen, you may have noticed that “edits” are all the rage lately with college hoops prospects.

Doctored graphics, innovative videos and creative media presentations are hot right now with athletes. And many of them have been releasing these edits on their social media to the masses. Whether it’s announcing their top five, top six, top seven or whatever numeric number they’ve settled on, Twitter has been consumed with cutting school lists.

Many North Carolina basketball targets have released their shorter lists lately and the THI staff has been aggregating the announcements and posting them on our premium hoops message boards. Our insiders on staff are also working their network of sources to figure out who the major players are for these prep stars.

Here’s a rundown of the recent developments:

Cade Cunningham, our pick for the best player in the class of 2020, just put out his top five. UNC made the cut and the Heels are joined by Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Florida and Washington. The physical 6-foot-6 guard, who can legitimately play point guard, is thought to be a heavy OSU lean but schools like UNC and Florida remain in active pursuit in case he doesn’t follow his older brother to Stillwater, as they hired him on the basketball staff.

Isaiah Todd, the super skilled 6-foot-10 forward, who will now play at Raleigh (NC) Word of God, put out his shorter list earlier this month as well.

The quiet, unassuming forward has Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Michigan and Memphis on his list. So the three blue bloods are joined by two former NBA players now serving as head coaches in Juwan Howard and Penny Hardaway, who have a good brand right now with the young prospects. While we fully expect Carolina to be a contender for Todd, we are not currently projecting them as the leader.

The sweet-shooting senior who will make an excellent stretch power forward, has always had his heart set on a short stay in college and while UNC has a better pitch with a lot of recent success, some other programs are more willing to lead with that message.

Hunter Dickinson, a super strong, rebounder extraordinaire from storied DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, MD, also cut his list to seven schools. UNC was a late offer for the skilled center, but they made the cut along with Notre Dame, Michigan, Louisville, Florida State, Purdue and Providence. The savvy, sure handed 7-footer has done his homework on which programs develop their big men and make them an active part of their offensive scheme. Our sources believe that Dickinson has a high interest in the Tar Heels but he’s still very open and impressionable and he has a lot of great options on his shorter list. THI will stay close to pulse on this one as he takes his official visits.

Big-time St Louis point guard, Caleb Love put out his final six schools last week and as we anticipated, UNC made the cut. One of our sources felt he could’ve cut his list to just a few schools, at this point, but the 6-foot-3 ball-handling whiz lists Indiana, Louisville, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri and the Tar Heels as his final half dozen.

Most sources that we trust and talk to, believe that the Tar Heels, Cardinals and Jayhawks may be the three programs with the best shot.

And we feel that Love will put a lot of stock into his official visit to Chapel Hill, which we are expecting to hear about, in terms of a date, very soon. We feel that this recruitment is one of the most important ones for Roy Williams this season as they look for a dynamic lead guard to replace Cole Anthony, who is expected to bolt for the NBA after this upcoming season.

In other news, UNC, as expected, made the list cut for Donovan “Puff” Johnson. He lists Arizona, Pitt, Louisville, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami and the Heels.

The younger brother of Cam Johnson is an excellent long-range shooter and savvy forward with long extension. He projects as an offensive sniper at the next level. We anticipate a methodical recruitment for the Pittsburgh native and the Tar Heels are in a favorable position along with the Wildcats.

One prospect that THI absolutely loves is Earl Timberlake. The aggressive wing forward at DeMatha is Dickinson’s running mate at the fabled Washington, DC, area program. He plays with an edge and gives as much effort on defense as he does looking to score. He’s also very physical and rebounds like a maniac for his position. And that is something that Williams loves in a forward.

The fierce competitor recently cut his list to seven schools. Alabama, Pitt, Miami, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Providence and the Tar Heels. While intel is difficult to gather on this recruitment, THI has a source working the pulse in the DC region to gain more pulse.

He will visit Pitt in late August and he told us via text message that he wants to visit Chapel Hill soon as well. The 6-foot-6 wing is strong, assertive and shows alpha-dog, lead-by-example traits on the hardwood.

Lastly, D.J. Steward, a top-35 scoring guard with an excellent stroke, has made his cut to eight schools. The Chicago (IL) Whitney Young sniper is an excellent team chemistry guy who shares the ball and just wants to win. But he’s definitely coveted for his ability to pop the nets from the perimeter.

While we feel Carolina has some ground to make up here, they join Duke, DePaul, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville and Texas.