CHAPEL HILL – Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce, who both earned all-conference honors in their respective leagues in each of the last two seasons, have signed scholarship agreements to attend the University of North Carolina as graduate students and play for the UNC men’s basketball team. Each player will be eligible to play in 2019-20 and has one season of eligibility remaining.
“We’re very excited to have Christian and Justin join our program. They are both outstanding students who can be tremendous additions to our team,” says UNC head coach Roy Williams, who will be in his 17th season as head coach of the Tar Heels in 2019-20.
Keeling earned first-team All-Big South honors in 2019, was a second-team selection in 2018 and made the academic all-conference team in each of the last two seasons while playing for Charleston Southern. He averaged 17.4, 17.6 and 18.7 points in his three seasons for the Buccaneers, totaling 1,668 points (17.9 per game). The 6-4 guard from Augusta, Ga., made 151 career three-pointers, shot 35.2 percent from three-point range and 78.3 percent from the free throw line. He scored a career-high 33 points twice. Last season, he had a triple-double vs. Coppin State (20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists) and scored in double figures in 33 of 34 games, including 15 games with at least 20 points and seven with 25 or more.
Keeling became the fifth player in Big South Conference history to score 1,000 points in his freshman and sophomore seasons. The 2016 Georgia high school player of the year was fourth in the Big South last season in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, fifth in three-pointers and seventh in free throw percentage.
“We are ecstatic to have Christian join our team,” says Williams. “He’s had a tremendously successful career at Charleston Southern. Coach Barclay Radebaugh is extremely positive in everything he has told us about Christian, especially what a great kid he is and how he will help us. Coach Radebaugh was very helpful throughout this process. Christian is a perimeter player who gives us scoring and experience. He’s also one of the nicest young men I’ve ever had the opportunity to recruit. He is close friends with Brandon Robinson, who speaks highly of him. Christian is a fun guy who I expect great things from.”
Pierce averaged 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists last season for William and Mary. He played for head coach Tony Shaver, who played at Carolina in the 1970s. Pierce earned third-team CAA honors for the second year in a row, ranking third in the league in rebounding, fifth in assists, seventh in assist-error and 15th in scoring. The Glen Ellyn, Ill., native was the first CAA player to average at least 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 27 seasons and his 8.9 rebounds per game were the best by a William and Mary player since 1996. He scored a career-high 33 points against Delaware as a junior and had a season-high 26 against the Blue Hens as a senior. He shot 41.6 percent from three in 2017-18 and made 98 three-pointers in his three seasons.
The 6-7 forward scored 980 points (11.1 per) and grabbed 576 rebounds (6.5) in 88 games with the Tribe. He made the CAA All-Academic team in 2019 and won a CAA’s Commissioner’s Academic Award in 2017 and 2018. He earned first-team all-state honors as a prep player in Illinois in 2016.
“Justin has done a great job in the classroom and is looking forward to studying in our business program at Carolina,” says Williams. “He is a versatile player who can play multiple positions. The stats show he did a fantastic job rebounding the ball and he can shoot the three. He has the ability to make plays for other people. Justin comes from a wonderful family whose parents played collegiately at Northwestern.”
