Is this déjà vu? A month after Auburn struck on the recruiting trail by landing Mustapha Heron, its in-state rival, Alabama, countered with Terrance Ferguson less than two days later. In the ACC, just after Duke received a commitment out of Frank Jackson, the Tar Heels struck in landing 2016 big man Tony Bradley on Wednesday evening.

A 6-foot-9 center from Bartow High School, Bradley is one of the best rebounders within his class. A true back to the rim big who has worked on developing a face-up game, the Sunshine State native has done a great job of extending his range and is now capable of hitting the perimeter jumper with time and spacing given. However, his bread and butter remains within the paint as he can score over his left shoulder while heavily guarded and has great, soft hands on putbacks.

Running with the Each 1 Teach 1 crew this past summer on the Nike circuit, Bradley was one of the most efficient scorers as he hit on over 60-percent of the shots that he took while averaging close to 13 points and nine rebounders per game. The senior center will never be described as athletic but he is phenomenal at getting position down low and using his thick frame to play angles appropriately before either scoring at the lid, or rebounding his teammates misses.

Programs like Kansas, Miami, Florida, and Vanderbilt were in pursuit, and after taking an official visit to the Chapel Hill institution back in February, the timing was right for Bradley to call it a day.

He is the first commit for Roy Williams’ crew in the 2016 class and expect for the Bartow High product to immediately contribute within the interior due to his strength, IQ, and finishing skills in the post.