Four-star guard Kerwin Walton commits to North Carolina
- by Evan Daniels
- 92 minutes ago
Four-star wing Kerwin Walton has verbally committed to North Carolina, he tells 247Sports.
“I just had a really good relationship with the coaches, the atmosphere was really great there, the fans show a lot of love,” Walton said. “I thought it was the biggest stage in college basketball and a great place for me to learn and grow.”
Walton was originally scheduled to make his choice on Saturday, but after deliberating with his family continued to give it thought throughout the weekend.
“I just feel like the level competitiveness, the culture and tradition best suited me,” Walton said about North Carolina. “I felt like if I wanted to play at the highest level, this is the highest level of college basketball.”
Walton, a 6-foot-5 wing out of Hopkins (Minn.) High, picked Roy Williams’s Tar Heels over Minnesota, Arizona, Creighton, Vanderbilt and Georgetown.
“Just the fact that he’s really honest and he’s seen a lot of legends and seen a lot of guys come through his program and succeed so he knows what it takes just to be successful and play at the highest level, so that’s probably the biggest thing to take away from him,” Walton said of UNC’s head coach.
Walton, who played for D1 Minnesota on the spring and summer travel team circuit, is ranked No. 99 overall and as the No. 17 shooting guard in the 2020 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite.
“I think one of the biggest standouts is my shooting, my defense and just being able to make plays and being able to make the right decision and find people in the right spots and be able to knock shots down,” Walton said. “I know they were struggling last year with it so I think I can help them out with that.”
Walton is the sixth pledge in UNC’s 2020 banner recruiting class. To go with Walton, the Tar Heels will bring in five-star recruits Caleb Love, Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler, plus four-star prospects R.J. Davis and Puff Johnson.
“I think I can fit in well,” Walton said. “I think those guys are really talented guards. They are really good playmakers from what I’ve seen. I think with the amount of talent coming in we can compete in the Tournament.”