One of the top players in the 2020 recruiting class — Ziaire Williams — will take his first official visit this weekend. Williams, a 5-star small forward from California, will visit USC, one of his top seven programs. Along with USC, Williams is also considering Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Oregon Stanford and UCLA.
UNC was one of the first programs to offer Williams, who will play his final season of prep basketball at Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon. That, of course, is the same program that produced former Duke star Marvin Bagley III and current Duke wing Cassius Stanley. Back in July, Duke officially offered the 6-foot-7 Williams, too.
Updated ESPN 100 from @PaulBiancardi and @AdamFinkelstein:
1. Evan Mobley
2. Cade Cunningham
3. Jalen Green
4. Jalen Johnson
5. Ziaire WilliamsBiggest risers: Jalen Bridges, Rondel Walker, RJ Davis, Dalen Terry, Nigel Packhttps://t.co/h6IOuWupQH pic.twitter.com/g8pDzCO8zP
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) August 21, 2019
While at Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame for the 2018-19 season, Williams averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds per game. Following that, he Williams also put together a strong effort on the Nike EYBL circuit, too: 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game for the Oakland Soldiers.
During the summer of 2019, Williams also — in a bench role — played well for a Team USA squad that won gold at the U19 Men’s World Cup. He shot 54 percent from the field during the tournament.
Both 247 Sports and ESPN rank Williams as the No. 5 prospect in the 2020 class — just behind another small forward, Jalen Johnson, who committed to Duke in early July.
The Blue Devils already have two 5-star commits in their 2020 class: Johnson and point guard Jeremy Roach. North Carolina is also in the midst of placing together a strong 2020 class, too. The Tar Heels already have a commitment from 5-star center/power forward Day’Ron Sharpe, who starred this summer in the Adidas Gauntlet Series. UNC is in the mix for several other blue-chip prospects, too, like 5-star wing Jaden Springer.
Official visits with Duke and UNC could take place this fall and winter.
Read More on Ziaire Williams
Led by Cade Cunningham, Team USA takes gold in the U19 World Championships