By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina hosted one of its most consequential recruiting weekends in years, with two five-star in-state prospects on campus at the same time that Michael Malone welcomed generations of former Tar Heels back to Chapel Hill for a basketball reunion.
The convergence was fitting for a first-year coach who has talked repeatedly about connecting Carolina’s past, present and future.
Five-star power forward CJ Rosser (right in top photo), the No. 2 player in the 2027 class (247 Composite rankings) and five-star shooting guard Jordan Page (left in top photo), the No. 12 recruit in the same class, both took official visits to Chapel Hill this past weekend.
UNC hasn’t signed two top-10 recruits in the same class since 2006, when it brought in three: No. 3 Brandan Wright, No. 5 Ty Lawson and No. 9 Wayne Ellington. That class also included No. 43 Deon Thompson, UNC’s current director of player development.
Rosser and Page were teammates on United States teams that won gold medals at the 2025 FIBA U16 AmeriCup and the FIBA U17 World Cup this past summer.
They arrived together as two of the most coveted prospects in the country, while more than 100 former Tar Heels returned to campus for a weekend organized by Malone that included a Friday night gathering, a Saturday tailgate before Carolina’s football win against East Tennessee State and Sunday’s Dribble for Victory Over Cancer event.
For Malone, the weekend offered a chance to immerse two of the state’s best young players in a program whose history he has spent his first months in Chapel Hill emphasizing.
It also put Carolina’s potential future on campus while it celebrated its past.
Rosser (above photo), a 6–10, 200-pound forward from Rocky Mount, has offers from seven schools and used the UNC visit to open a visit swing that continues at N.C. State on Wednesday, Miami on Sept. 25, Arkansas on Sept. 28, Kentucky on Oct. 1, USC on Oct. 4 and Louisville on Oct. 22.
Page (below photo), a 6–5 left-handed wing originally from Raleigh’s Broughton High School, who transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his final high school season, holds offers from more than 20 programs, including Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and N.C. State. UNC extended its offer to Page last month.
The presence of so many former Tar Heels gave the prospects a firsthand look at the size of the basketball family Malone is trying to bring together.
Malone spent much of Friday night’s reunion talking with former players and learning more about the program’s history. He told them Carolina has a standard to uphold and that he came to Chapel Hill to compete for another championship banner.
That message dovetailed with the recruiting pitch being made to Rosser and Page.
Both prospects have deep North Carolina roots, and Malone’s staff has made clear it wants to lure the state’s top talent to Chapel Hill rather than watching it scatter to programs such as Duke and Kentucky, as has happened in recent recruiting cycles.
Signing both players in the same class would give Carolina a foundation to build around as Malone and his staff work to reestablish the program among the nation’s recruiting leaders.
Rosser enters his senior year after a strong summer with Team United on the Nike EYBL circuit, where he averaged 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Page was a team captain as a sophomore at Broughton, averaging 22.9 points, eight rebounds and 3.2 assists per game before moving to IMG Academy, and has drawn praise for his frame, transition scoring and ability to finish through contact at the rim.
Rosser had three 20-point games this summer at the World Cup in Turkey, topped by a 23-point, four-rebound, two-block effort against Serbia in the 107–81 gold-medal game victory. Page had 11 points in one of five double-digit scoring games during the World Cup.
A third five-star, point guard Beckham Black, is scheduled to make his visit to North Carolina this coming weekend. Black, the younger brother of Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black, is widely considered the top point guard and is the No. 2 overall player in the 2027 class. He has already visited Texas, Georgetown and Florida, with Arkansas and Duke also heavily involved in his recruitment.
Black averaged 21.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals last summer in EYBL.
For a Carolina program still finding its footing under a first-year coach with no prior college head-coaching experience, the weekend carried significance well beyond two official visits.
Malone was simultaneously surrounding his program with the people who built its history and showing highly regarded prospects what their place in that history could look like.
The former Tar Heels came back to Chapel Hill to celebrate what Carolina basketball has been.
Rosser, Page, and soon Black are among the players Malone hopes will help determine what it becomes next.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
UNC scholarship offers
Class of 2027
| Pos. | Stars | Name | Hgt | Wgt | Hometown | Rank * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | 5 | Nasir Anderson | 6–4 | 205 | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | 70 |
| PG | 5 | Beckham Black | 6–3 | 180 | Orlando, Fla. | 2 |
| CG | 5 | NaVorro Bowman Jr. | 6–3 | 180 | Sherman Oaks, Calif. | 12 |
| CG | 5 | Jalen Davis | 6–3 | 165 | Bremerton, Wash. | 16 |
| CG | 5 | Adan Diggs | 6–5 | 180 | Goodyear, Ariz. | 6 |
| W | 5 | Jordan Page | 6–5 | 205 | Raleigh | 12 |
| SF | 5 | Demarcus Henry | 6–7 | 190 | Chandler, Ariz. | 3 |
| SF | 4 | Asa Montgomery | 6–7 | 195 | Powder Springs, Ga. | 8 |
| SF | 5 | AJ Williams | 6–8 | 210 | McDonough, Ga. | 5 |
| PF | 5 | CJ Rosser | 6–10 | 195 | Orlando, Fla. | 2 |
| C | 5 | Paul Osaruyi | 6–10 | 220 | Scottsdale, Ariz. | 20 |
| C | 5 | Lewis Uvwo | 6–10 | 225 | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | 7 |
| C | 5 | Darius Wabbington | 6–11 | 245 | Phoenix | 12 |
Class of 2028
| Pos. | Stars | Name | Hgt | Wgt | Hometown | Rank* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CG | 5 | Brady Pettigrew | 6–3 | 185 | Bolingbrook, Ill. | 12 |
| SF | 5 | Colton Hiller | 6–6 | 210 | Coatesville, Pa. | 1 |
| C | 5 | Dylan Betts | 7–3 | 230 | Bradenton, Fla. | 12 |
| C | 5 | Yann Kamagate | 7–0 | 230 | La Canada Flintridge, Calif. | 1 |
Photos courtesy of FIBA
