Tar Heels to Welcome Top-Flight Prospect to Chapel Hill

Five-star recruit Tajh Ariza will be forced to miss the rest of the summer basketball schedule as he recovers from an injury. His EYBL and AAU careers are over, but the opportunity to stay home and rest will give him the chance to figure out where he wants to take his official visits and ultimately play college basketball.

Recruiting is on Ariza's mind as he already planned four official visits. He will take his first visit to Oregon on Sept. 6, followed by a visit to North Carolina on the 12th. A week later he will travel to the University of Southern California. A fourth trip to Texas to visit with the Longhorns still needs to be scheduled.

While the coaches will not be able to scout him in the Peach Jam due to his injury, they will get to meet him up close and personal when he comes to Chapel Hill. Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis happens to know Ariza personally as he coached him at a USA Basketball minicamp. The two worked together closely and will meet again on Davis' turf.

UNC made a scholarship offer to Ariza back on June 19. The offer predicated Ariza's desire to visit with Davis and the Tar Heels.

Davis made a late offer, but he is lucky to have the relationship with Ariza that he does. North Carolina is being quickly brought up to speed in the recruitment process of Ariza. Southern California, though, might be the favorites to land Ariza as he might be looking to stay close to home.

Another player the Tar Heels are recruiting is also a blue-chip prospect. Mikka Muurinen is a top 10 player who has narrowed his decision down to seven schools, one of which is North Carolina. On3 and Rivals are both reporting this as positive news for Davis and the Tar Heels. The 6-10 forward is also looking at Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Duke and Indiana.

North Carolina has been in the catbird's seat for a while with Muurinen. The Arizona native came to see the campus a year ago. The staff also flew West to visit him back in October. Another advantage trending for the Tar Heels is that Murrinen's mother Jenni played women's basketball for North Carolina. She is familiar with the campus, the history and the surroundings.

It will be a knock-down drag out fight to see who lands the stud forward. Davis is hoping Jenni's history with the school tips the scales in their favor.

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