So today was National Signing Day for college football recruits. The Heels did well. I've seen our class ranked as high as #24 in the nation and #4 in the ACC.

It's definitely the best class of North Carolina schools, so that looks good to the in-state players and coaches. Building your core from in-state players is key, especially for a state-supported university.

Check out video and stats of our signees at TarHeelBlue.

The two big names you'll hear most immediately are Jarrell Miller, from Virginia,  and Aleric Mullins, who played his senior season at East Wake. Miller committed in January at the Army All-American Bowl, but was courted by schools like Virginia and Virginia Tech up until today. Mullins chose Carolina over Auburn and Tennessee.

I heard Roy Williams and Tyler Hansbrough were called in to help recruit Mullins during his official visit last weekend, so that really shows you how closely the two programs run together. Hansbrough played high school basketball against Mullins.

I am very excited about the class recruited by John Bunting and company, and hope you'll welcome them to Kenan Stadium with open arms.

One more thought: Tommy Thigpen has been named several times as the big reason these defensive recruits are swayed to Carolina. What a great addition to the staff he has been. Already paying dividends on the recruiting trail.

http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/418825.html

Sophomore Vince Wilson, the only Tar Heel with tailback experience, has decided to transfer. I don't know what's going on with Vince, but I wish him the best. I had high hopes for Vince backing up Barrington Edwards at the running back spot.

“Vince Wilson has got some things he’s got to do to improve and show that he belongs on that field,” Bunting said. “No. 1, he’s got to know what to do. He’s a tough kid. He’s physical despite his size; we saw that on special teams. He’s got to learn how to be involved in all the pass protections. He’s got to learn to catch the ball well. He’s got to learn to do the things on and off the field that I expect from our football players.”

From what Bunting said, there must have been some other issues going on with Vince. He had a chance to make some noise this year, and maybe he recognized the talent coming in 2006 at that spot.

John Bunting has hit the ground running in recruiting the class of 2006. Shaun Draughn, a running back from Tarboro, committed to the program in June.
According to the above-linked article, Draughn is the 7th committment to date from the class, which will sign letters of intent in February.

Bias aside, Coach Bunting is dominating in-state recruiting, and setting the tone to make North Carolina THE in-state school that recruits should list.

The Tar Heels got an in-state committment at tailback from Shaun Draughn of Tarboro, who looks like a good catch. Missed 3 games last year yet still had over 1000 yards and 'about 25' touchdowns. 
So who's in the backfield for 2005? With Ronnie hurt, it only gets harder. I believe it will look something like this:
1. Barrington Edwards (RS Soph)
2. Vince Wilson (Soph)
3. Richie Rich (Fresh)
4. James 'Cooter' Arnold (Fresh)
I think Antwain Carey (Soph) will be on the other side of the ball somewhere, though I may be wrong. So we're defnitely young in the backfield. It's going to be an interesting season...

Eric Montross continues to be committed to Carolina, 11 years after graduation. Wick Smith wrote a fantastic article on what Montross continues to do for the school. Check it out at Inside Carolina.

The football Tar Heels added R.J. Waters, a running back from Virginia that was apparently a late qualifier. Linked above is a story about Waters and Joe Dailey, the Nebraska QB that transferred to North Carolina.

Speaking of the Cornhuskers, King Rice will join the Nebraska coaching staff. Good for King. One of my earliest Tar Heel memories is of him hitting the game-winning shot to cap a comeback against James Madison in an early-season tournament game. I think it was in Maui. He, Rick Fox, and Pete Chilcutt formed the triumvirate that set the foundation for my Tar Heel fanaticism.
I have blurry memories of Lebo, Reid, Bucknall and Madden, but I really came into my own as a fan during the Rice-Fox-Chilcutt days.

Here's an interesting excerpt from that article:

While Illinois State had a strong run during Rice's tenure, including Missouri Valley Conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1997 and '98, his stay there was marred by an incident in 1997 that left him serving a one-game suspension for leaving the bench in a home game against Northern Iowa to confront a fan in the stands.

In an Associated Press story from Jan. 11, 1997, Illinois State's coach at the time, Kevin Stallings, called it "an unfortunate and disturbing incident. While I can appreciate how difficult it is to listen to biting criticism, it is never appropriate to engage argumentatively with our fans or to leave the bench area to deal with issues of this nature."

I don't remember hearing about this. But on that note, who gets so excited about an Illinois State basketball game that a coach has to run into the stands? Is the atmosphere that electric?

Good luck to King in his coaching ventures at Nebraska and further down the road.

Andy Katz says the Milwaukee Bucks will select either Andrew Bogut or Marvin Williams with the #1 pick in the NBA Draft. I know what you think of Andy Katz. I'm just the messenger. Charlotte will pick #5 and #13. I'm hoping they grab a Tar Heel, else I'll just give up on the NBA entirely.

Wayne Ellington, the 6-5 SG from Episcopal Academy ranked #1 in his class at his position, will reportedly head to North Carolina.
This is great news. The #1 PG, the #1 SG, what more is to come? This is shaping up to be a class on par with 2002.
In Roy we trust.

Nebraska's 2004 starting QB Joe Dailey will transfer to North Carolina. The Huskers were 5-6 with Dailey under center as a sophomore. I don't know much about the situation, but I'd imagine Dailey was recruited by Frank Solich. Perhaps Callahan and he didn't see eye to eye on the offense. Still, Nebraska is Nebraska, and I'm sure Dailey will push Cameron Sexton and Roger Heinz for the starting job in fall 2006.

Sorry I haven't been updating. Been dealing with some computer glitches.

Special thanks to the News & Observer's Tar Heel BlogWatch for sending some folks my way. If you're here via the N&O, check out all the aspects of our site. Stay a while.


Thanks for reading, as always.

This is ridiculous. Over 100 basketball players have given up at least some college eligibility to enter the NBA draft. Some of them want to try to beat the age limit. Some of them have big dreams. Some of them are kidding themselves.

The NBA has broken off collective bargaining agreement talks, meaning we may see a lockout starting June 1. I don't think they'll let the NBA turn into the new NHL, but we could see an abbreviated season. Oh, the irony.

Havelock's Bruce Carter committed to the football Heels this week, too. He plays quarterback for the Rams, but will probably be tried in the secondary in Chapel Hill. Another pickup that will help in-state down the line.

I've been meaning to post about this kid for a few days, and now I'm getting around to it. SW Onslow's Kendric Burney has committed to play baseball and football for the Tar Heels.
Several things struck me in reading about Burney. Not only does he play three sports for his high school team, but he started at quarterback and cornerback. Wow. Some other things:

While Burney will play football under John Bunting and baseball under Mike Fox, it was another UNC coach that helped sway the 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior.

"Roy Williams wrote me a not telling me how much I would mean to Carolina," Burney recalled. "When I saw it I didn't know what to do. My eyes just blew up."

Wow. Talk about interoperability. Working together, I mean. This kid's not going to play basketball, yet Coach Williams took the time to write him a note about his potential for the gridiron and diamond Heels. Kudos there.

"I'm gonna go in there with the mentality that I still have a lot of work to do," Burney said regarding the football team. "Go in there thinking I want to take someone's position, get the ins and outs. I have to learn a lot before I can be considered a good cornerback or wherever coach puts me."

This is the kind of kid we need to grab. In-state players that grew up watching the Tar Heels and want to be a part of something great.
And the icing on the cake?

"Baseball, I'm very excited about that. I've been following Carolina baseball for about five years now. Coach Fox and (assistant coach Chad) Holbrook are just amazing. It can't get any better. I see Carolina winning the national championship at least two times in the next five years."

Here's hoping!

So Uche Echefu decided on Florida State. He went with the team that recruited him over three years.

Echefu was the last best recruit in the class of 2005, and would have added much-needed depth in the post. And I hate that we missed out on him. However, it's only a bad thing in the short-term.
Echefu would have taken up a scholarship that can now be used in 06 or 07.

Yes, the Heels will struggle in the frontcourt next year. But there is hope on the horizon.
Roy will get one of the top forwards in the class of 2006. I think Uche saw that and got a little intimidated looking at the potential depth chart.

For Carolina, Echefu would have been a piece of the puzzle.
For Florida State, he's the whole puzzle altogether.

Good luck to him. No hard feelings, but I hope he enjoys the ACC basement.

You all remember Kory Bailey. A Durham native, he was one of the best and most consistent receivers in recent Carolina football history. He spent some time in the CFL as an Edmonton Eskimo.

Well he's back in Chapel Hill running some clubs and pretty much being an entrepreneur. In fact, he's a finalist on a show on Fox 50 called 'Entrepreneurs.' From what I understand, it's kind of like a local 'Apprentice.' But the winner gets to head an international business.
Ever been to Avalon? That's Kory's club. His group owns WB Yeats as well. I spent some time at their Open Mic nights back in my heyday.

Anyway, vote for Kory today and every day at this link.

I talked to Kory today. He's always come across as a good guy and he did some great things for UNC football. Let's help him out.