It has been anticipated for some time that Juke Harris would not be playing for North Carolina. Harris, a standout player for Wake Forest this past season, was initially thinking about UNC, Michigan, and Tennessee. However, Michael Malone was able to secure other targets, and it appeared that the Heels had somewhat cooled their enthusiasm.
The prospect of losing the sharpshooter to the current national champions didn’t sit well with many Carolina supporters when Harris was down to Michigan and Tennessee. Fortunately, that won’t occur because the NC product is headed to the SEC to play for the Vols:
We’ll give Barnes a pat on the back since he is obviously putting everything on the line to help Tennessee make history by making it to the Final Four before he departs. Barnes is 71 years old, thus it seems unlikely that he will be in charge of Knoxville for very long.
For this reason, if the Tar Heels were going to lose out on Harris to someone, we’re happy it was Barnes. Please understand that we would have been thrilled to watch Harris play in the ACC and completely transform the game for Michael Malone and the Heels.
But that was not going to happen. What if he moved to Michigan? This had nothing to do with Dusty May and the Wolverines, but it would have strengthened the current national champions going forward. Additionally, it was strange that Harris, a native of Carolina, could win it all in the Big Ten.
Barnes never gave up on getting his signature, even when Michigan was on the verge of signing him. With the addition of Matt Able, Neoklis Avdalas, Terrence Brown, and Cade Bennerman, North Carolina has also been performing admirably in the portal. Sayon Keita and Maximo Adams, two five-star talents, are also on the way. Malone is far from finished with targeted center assistance.
Having said that, if the cupboard was empty for North Carolina, folks may be freaking out about missing out on Harris, but Malone has been relentless. Because of this, it hurts to miss out on the Wake Forest transfers, but it’s not devastating. With him traveling to Tennessee as well, things are undoubtedly improved.
