After an entire weekend of delays, four-star wing Kerwin Walton announced he will play at North Carolina over Arizona and home-state choice Minnesota.
@TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/Rxbpu6hAss
— Kerwin Walton (@K_Walton24) April 27, 2020
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound wing had also been considering Vanderbilt, Creighton and Georgetown while drawing impatience from fans of all the involved teams with his silence after stating he would make a decision on Saturday.
By late Saturday night, 247's Evan Daniels reported that his father said he would announce on Sunday but he did not, instead posting his choice on Twitter on Monday and talking about it with Daniels.
Four-star guard Kerwin Walton joins @247Sports to make his college announcement.“Next season I plan to play college basketball at the University of North Carolina.”Story: https://t.co/fbfpIUE2bX pic.twitter.com/fYLVIOZhai
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) April 27, 2020
Walton played with former UA forward Zeke Nnaji at Minnesota's Hopkins High School in 2018-19 and Nnaji's fast rise into a projected first-round pick was Arizona's major selling point to Walton, a longtime UA target who visited for Arizona's Red Blue Game last September.
Walton is the third player the Wildcats have lost to North Carolina and its loaded 2020 recruiting class, after forward Puff Johnson and guard Caleb Love chose the Tar Heels last fall.
UNC brings in the #3 Ranked Recruiting Class for 2020. 5⭐️ Caleb Love (Top-20)5⭐️ Day’Ron Sharpe (Top-15)5⭐️ Walker Kessler (Top-20) 4⭐️ RJ Davis (Top-60)4⭐️ Puff Johnson (Top-50)4⭐️ Kerwin Walton (Top-100) https://t.co/sCZGP0Zy3u pic.twitter.com/bnLi4fvPXG
— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) April 27, 2020
Not landing Walton means the Wildcats could leave more opportunity for incoming freshman wings Dalen Terry and Bennedict Mathurin.
The Wildcats also have five combo guards on paper for next season: James Akinjo, Jemarl Baker, Terrell Brown, Kerr Kriisa and Brandon Williams.
While Akinjo enrolled in January and sat out the second half of the season after transferring from Georgtown, Arizona pulled in winter and spring commitments from Mathurin, Brown, Kriisa and French forward Daniel Batcho.
Arizona is still recruiting to add a wing and a big man to fill out its 2020-21 roster, and Turkish forward Tibet Gorener is among its remaining targets.
Here's Arizona's men's basketball roster to date for 2020-21. Two scholarship spots remain open, three if Williams does not return.
James Akinjo* Jr. G 6-0 180 Richmond, Calif.
Jemarl Baker Jr. G 6-4 200 Menifee, Calif.
Daniel Batcho Fr. 6-10 225 Paris
Jordan Brown So. F 6-11 210 Roseville, Calif.
Terrell Brown Sr. G 6-1 175 Seattle
Christian Koloko So. C 7-0 215 Douala, Cameroon
Kerr Kriisa Fr. G 6-2 170 Tartu, Estonia
Ira Lee Sr. F 6-7 240 Los Angeles
Bennedict Mathurin Fr. F 6-6 190 Montreal
Dalen Terry Fr. G 6-6 190 Tempe
Brandon Williams** So. G 6-3 190 Los Angeles
* Will not be eligible until December 2020, unless he receives a waiver to play earlier.
**Tentative
