Around this time last month, Harvard-Westlake School (Calif.) senior was in Chapel Hill for an official visit with UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis and his cohorts. And the 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward, a four-star talent who has jumped 32 spots since January to No. 27 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, included the blueblood among his five finalists back in August, along with Duke, UCLA, Gonzaga, and Arizona.
ALSO READ: Five-Star UNC Target Sets Two Dates to Finalize Decision
Even so, some insiders have recently suggested that the Tar Heels are no longer in the mix.
According to the recruit himself, though, that’s just not the case. On Tuesday, Khamenia informed HS Top Recruits that, despite those growing rumors to the contrary, he’s indeed still considering UNC and Arizona, in addition to his other three finalists.
Nik Khamenia tells me it is not true that Arizona and UNC are cut.
— HS Top Recruits (@HSTopRecruiting) October 8, 2024
One week after touring the UNC basketball facilities, Khamenia returned to Tobacco Road for an official visit with Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his crew. He visited Gonzaga last year and, most recently, checked out UCLA in person this past weekend..
Nikolas Khamenia hasn’t locked in an end date to his high-profile recruitment. That said, the coveted stretch-four has mentioned that he hopes to pick a winner this month, presumably with eyes on putting his commitment in ink during the early signing period in November.
For now, UNC basketball boasts one 2025 commit in Gonzaga College High School (D.C.) four-star combo guard Derek Dixon.
ALSO READ: New UNC Sharpshooter Puts Advanced Craft on Display
Stay tuned to North Carolina Tar Heels On SI for more UNC basketball recruiting news.
