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UNC Basketball Signee Falls to Ace Flagg in Playoffs

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Feb 19, 2025 8:12 AM ET

The second of three 2025 UNC basketball recruiting prizes thus far, four-star guard Isaiah Denis and his Davidson Day (N.C.) Patriots finished 22-13 this season despite the incoming Tar Heel's recovery from a right hand injury in December. But their postseason run ran out off steam on Tuesday night.

In the North Carolina private school semifinals, Davidson Day tallied a 45-39 loss to the Greensboro Day School Bengals (30-5). As SLAM HS Hoops notes below, Greensboro Day features the twin of current Duke basketball rookie forward and ACC Player of the Year frontrunner Cooper Flagg.

pic.twitter.com/gwHwH1hzZ3
— SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) February 19, 2025

Ace Flagg, a 6-foot-7, 180-pound forward ranking No. 291 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, is committed to his home-state Maine Black Bears.

Denis, part of the No. 9-ranked UNC basketball haul, stacks up at No. 62 overall in the cycle, No. 11 among combo guards, and No. 2 in the state. The 6-foot-5, 175-pound four-star verbally committed to the Tar Heels on Nov. 2 and put it in ink 11 days later.

"Man, they were just so welcoming," Denis noted about Hubert Davis & Co. during his chat with Duke basketball legend Mike Gminski back in December when still sidelined due to injury. "Especially on my visit, just being so welcoming and feeling that family presence as soon as I walked on campus.

"And it was just kind of like a lot of signs showing towards Carolina...They had a plan for me too. So, that was another thing. I wanted to go somewhere where I knew they had a plan for me — how I could get better, how I could help the team...So, I definitely felt at home when I went there."

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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