Would Jarin Stevenson give North Carolina their own version of the Fab Five?
Last week North Carolina pulled in a major recruiting haul when the class of 2024 five-star Ian Jackson committed to the Tar Heels. Jackson is the fourth commitment for North Carolina’s 2024 class, putting them in the No. 1 spot in the 2024 team rankings.
Separately, class of 2024 power forward Jarin Stevenson visited the Tar Heels this weekend for their game against NC State. While Stevenson remains uncommitted, he has long been considered a heavy lean to the Tar Heels. Stevenson’s mother, Nicole (Walker) Stevenson, played for Sylvia Hatchell on three ACC Championship-winning teams from 1995-98.
Could North Carolina add a fifth player to its 2024 class, and if Stevenson, would he give the Tar Heels their own version of the Fab Five?
North Carolina recruiting
A look back through the years, and you will routinely see Tar Heels classes among the top spots. Like in 1993 when they brought in Raseed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, and Jeff McInnis. Or in 2010, when Harrison Barnes, No. 1 at the time, was joined in Chapel Hill by five-star Reggie Bullock and four-star Kendall Marshall.
Neither of these classes had five players in them.
North Carolina’s 1990 class of Eric Montross, Clifford Rozier, Brian Reese, Pat Sullivan, and Derrick Phelps were the building blocks of the 1993 championship team – who ironically beat the Fab Five for the title. The 2006 class also brought in five players, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Brandon Wright, Deon Thompson, and Alex Stephenson. Three of the players in this class started for North Carolina in the 2009 championship game. Headlined by Lawson ranked third, Ellington fourth, and Wright fifth, these five players carried an average recruiting ranking of 30.8.
The North Carolina Fab Five
Probably the most famous five, or more, man class was Michigan’s Fab Five. Michigan’s 1991 recruiting class carried an average recruiting ranking of 14.2. Four of the five, Chris Webber (No. 1), Juwan Howard (No. 4), Jalen Rose (No. 9), and Jimmy King (No. 11), were ranked among the top eleven prospects in the country. All four were also McDonald’s All-Americans. Ray Jackson was the No. 46 player that season.
Steve Fisher, the architect of the Fab Five, was a long-time assistant coach for Bill Frieder, who agreed to take the job at Arizona State mid-season in 1989. Michigan AD Bo Schembechler appointed Fisher as the Interim Head Coach of the Wolverines for the remainder of the 1988-89 season. Fisher went on to win the national title that season and had the interim tag taken off that offseason.
Similar to Fisher, Hubert Davis was named the North Carolina head coach after a long-time stint as an assistant to his predecessor. Davis also made a run to the National Title game in his first season as a head coach. For Fisher, two years after his run to the NCAA Championship, he brought in the Fab Five. The 2024 class will be two years removed from Davis’ run to the NCAA Championship game.
Jarin Stevenson
Jarin Stevenson is the No. 16 player in the 2024 On3 Consensus. The four-star maintains that his recruitment is wide open. Listed as a 6-foot-9 power forward, Stevenson has taken a lone official visit to Georgetown. He has taken several unofficial visits, which include multiple trips to North Carolina, as well as trips to Duke, NC State, and Virginia. There were also talks of a visit to Missouri.
Stevenson recently scored his 1,000th career high school point. He was the first player in Pittsboro (NC) Seaforth High School history to accomplish the feat. This season, Stevenson is averaging 20.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks. He is shooting 61 percent from the field and 38 percent from three.
The 2024 class
North Carolina has routinely built rosters through high school recruiting. A look back at these previously mentioned top classes and you see National Championships have traditionally soon followed, built around the players in the top-ranked class.
Already in tow are four blue-chip prospects. Shooting guard Ian Jackson is the 2024 On3 Consensus No. 2 prospect. Point guard Elliot Cadeau is No. 11, center James Brown is No. 30, and wing Drake Powell is No. 54. If the Tar Heels were to add No. 16 Jarin Stevenson, that would give this potential five-man class an average ranking of 22.6, better than the 2006 class.
How will the Tar Heels finish out their 2024 class? Stay tuned to On3 as we continue to keep you up-to-date with all the nation’s top recruiting news and player information.