James Brown Continues UNC's Recruiting Momentum, Commits To Tar Heels

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North Carolina's recruiting roll continued Monday with a commitment of 2024 center, James Brown. This came within a week after Elliot Cadeau pledged to the Tar Heels last Wednesday.

The 6-foot-10 big man from Chicago is ranked No. 29 overall in the junior group. He joins Cadeau who is ranked No. 21, and Drake Powell at No. 66.

Brown's commitment comes after an official visit to to Chapel Hill in October. He also took officials in the fall to Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, and Notre Dame. Illinois and North Carolina had both made their presence known during the high school season. The entire Fighting Illini coaching staff and roster attended a St. Rita game earlier in the season. Hubert Davis and Sean May were in the stands to see him last week.

Brown spoke with Tar Heel Illustrated at length after the visit and mentioned multiple reasons for being impressed with what he saw in Chapel Hill.

"I would really say the main thing that stuck out for me and my family is probably the extreme and rich history that is North Carolina Basketball. You can go down the line. There are a lot of great basketball players that have come out of North Carolina: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Tyler Hansbrough. The list goes on and on. Just the amount of history that is at North Carolina really stuck out to me. Obviously when you think of North Carolina you think it is a great basketball school, but it is so much more than that. That is something that really stuck out to me," 'Brown told THI.

Brown also detailed his relationship with the coaching staff and what their pitch was in his recruitment.

"It was really good to be around them," He said. "They seem like really genuine and caring people which is extremely appealing to me. Their main message to me was that they want to see me be as successful as possible at North Carolina. I talked to Coach Sean May today, and was echoing the same message that they want to be able to see me hang my jersey up in the rafters at Carolina which is pretty cool.

"There are a lot of jerseys hanging at the Smith Center. They say I'm the kind of person and player they need at North Carolina for the future to help them continue the legacy of success in Chapel Hill. So that was something I really enjoyed."

Brown also added that he was very impressed with the facilities, and liked the layout of the campus. He is intending to either major in Business or Criminal Law.

Rob Cassidy watched Brown late in the summer at the Pangos All-American Camp and wrote, "His skill set and athleticism was enough to back up his lofty ranking at Pangos. Just a junior, Brown was one of few 2024 prospects that qualified for the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game and looked like he belonged once he took the court. Brown got up and down the floor as well as any player of his size and got a handful of impressive buckets in transition in addition to changing shots on the defensive end."

St. Rita is currently 8-5 on the season. Brown is averaging 10.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

Brown won't be on campus for two more seasons, but the outlook for post players is already beginning to take shape. Will Shaver is a 6-10 redshirt freshman, and Jalen Washington is also a 6-foot-10 freshman. Washington is from Gary, Indiana just outside Chicago, and played on the same Meanstreets EYBL program as Brown. The Tar Heels also have the signature of Zayden High, a 6-foot-10 power forward from AZ Compass Prep in Phoenix. He is ranked No. 46 in the 2023 class.