The North Carolina Tar Heels saw one of their international targets sign on with their most bitter rival earlier this week, setting up a matchup for the ages for next season and beyond.
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje — a 5-star recruit from Spain — committed to Duke earlier this week. He had an offer from UNC as well, but opted to go with the Tar Heels’ most bitter rival. The 16-year-old soon-to-be freshman is one of the top players in this year’s class.
Boumtje Boumtje spent last season with FC Barcelona, and averaged 16.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 23.0 minutes per game. He flexes an all-around skill set, showing off his floor-spacing abilities, his ability to score off the bounce, and his ability to defend the perimeter and the rim at a high level.
UNC Lands Sayon Keita
He would’ve been quite the get for Michael Malone and his staff, but he likely chose Duke in light of fellow international five-star center Sayon Keita committing to UNC earlier this week. With both 5-star commits to their respective schools, it sets up a battle for the ages as part of one of the most historic rivalries in all of sports.
Keita is a 6-foot-11, 215-pound big man from Spain, also playing for FC Barcelona, who chose UNC despite interest from Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, UConn, and, ironically, Duke. He is an exceptional finisher and rim protector and is the best recruit that Malone has landed since taking over the UNC job.
UNC’s Losses
The Tar Heels are losing a significant number of frontcourt pieces next season. Most notably, forwards Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar are both headed for the NBA Draft. Wilson — who led the team in essentially every category last season — is projected to be a top-five pick, whereas Veesaar — who averaged 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game — is expected to be selected as a late-first round pick, and both have declared that they won’t be back in Chapel Hill next season.
Additionally, the Tar Heels saw the departures of James Brown, Ivan Matlekovic, and Zayden High to the transfer portal. Bringing in Keita, along with Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman, is a good start to remedy some of the losses they’ve suffered, but there will be plenty of pressure on Malone and his staff in year one to put together a competitive team for next season and beyond.
