Zayden High Signs With North Carolina
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It's official. Zayden High is the newest North Carolina Tar Heel. The 6-foot-10 senior put his name on the dotted line during a signing ceremony at the main gymnasium at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, AZ.
The event was an impressive one to say the least. High was joined by five other teammates this morning who signed with Divison I Basketball programs: Marquis Cook, Oregon; Trent Pierce, Missouri; Rayvon Griffith, Cincinnati; Vince Delano, Portland, and Jordan Ross, St. Mary's.
High wasted no time in making things official with the Tar Heels. The November Early Signing Period begins today and runs exactly one week through the 16th.
North Carolina has one other current commit in the 2023 class. Simeon Wilcher, a 5-star guard out of Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, will sign next Monday. The combination of High and Wilcher puts the Tar Heels in as the No. 21 class nationally according to Rivals.
This is the second recruiting haul in the Hubert Davis era. His first was ranked No. 12 in 2022 by Rivals.
Once Wilcher signs next week, Davis will have inked six players in two classes. High ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to the Rivals' rankings. Wilcher would be the highest rated player at No. 14 (2023), followed by No. 36 Seth Trimble (2022), No. 46 High (2023), No. 52 Jalen Washington (2022), No. 84 Tyler Nickel (2022), and Will Shaver at No. 114. He was originally in the 2022 class, but reclassified to 2021, and enrolled at UNC last winter.
High brings a unique package to Chapel Hill. Standing at 6-foot-10, High can play both the four and five. He has the reputation of a standout perimeter shooter, but there is more to his game than that. High has good court vision, and is an excellent passer for a young man his size. High can also play inside the three-point line. He can finish in the paint, and he is also an excellent rebounder. High could actually be called a rugged player despite his description as a stretch big.
His head coach, Ed Gibson of Compass Prep, painted a similar picture of High in a recent interview with Tar Heel Illustrated.
"I think the biggest thing is his versatility," Gibson told THI. "Him being able to score around the rim on the block, and post up and face up, but also his ability which a lot of people already knew to stretch the floor, and shoot the ball from the perimeter. For us Zayden is able to switch it up a lot more. He rebounds at a high level. He is the ultimate teammate, great effort, runs the floor, defends at a high level.
"To be honest with you, he does a whole lot that people don't give him effort for. He's a great passer. He's probably one of the most unselfish players on our team at times. He don't cry about shooting, and getting shots, and stuff like that. I think that is some of the stuff that makes him a winner, and some of the things that are going to allow him to have more success at the next level."
Compass Prep began their season last week, and High did his part on what is obviously a tremendous roster. He posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in the season opening win over Skyline Prep.
North Carolina began recruiting High last spring. Hubert Davis and his staff first watched High during the first EYBL event in Orlando back in April. The Tar Heels ended up offering High in early September. He took his official visit to Chapel Hill during the final weekend of the month. High committed to UNC on October 16 over the likes of Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, and Villanova.
High's father, Michael, spoke with THI shortly after the commitment, and said it didn't take long for his son to know as soon as he stepped on campus Chapel Hill was where he wanted to be.
"We knew when he stepped on campus just watching his demeanor, watching how he interacted with the coaches, just his overall vibe. Once we got there you could tell he was super-comfortable within himself, and with the coaching staff. The players welcomed him, and kind of showed him around a little bit as well. Just the culture itself was really, really good. Once he sat down and chit chatted with us, and told us this was where he wanted to play basketball, we kind of knew, " Mr. High told Tar Heel Illustrated.
Mr. High added that there was a specific moment when he knew it would be North Carolina.
"We were actually sitting and watching the team go through practice. I just kind of nonchalantly asked him, 'What are you going to do if they ask you to commit this weekend?'
"He just looked at me and started smiling like, 'Dad, I honestly don't know.'
"When he said he didn't know what his response would be, that's when we knew, " Mr High said.
Even though the official commitment came two weeks after the visit, High's pledge actually came during the official visit during a meeting with Coach Davis.
'Coach, after being here this weekend, I truly feel there is where I want to continue my college career, and play basketball. I'm committing to you guys today,"
Meanwhile, the coaches have directed High on what he needs to work on before arriving to campus according to his father.
"On the defensive side of it is where they want him to grow a lot. He has really been good at rebounding over his career, and doing the little things, " the elder High told THI. "He is a really good passer. They kind of highlighted on a lot of this stuff he does, but I know there are a lot of things he needs to work on like getting stronger and playing defense. That comes with maturity and being around the program."