Can UNC basketball's 'dream school' status with this 2023 recruit help land his commitment?

Growing up in Charlotte, London Johnson saw UNC as a “dream school.”

Will those lasting memories, plus the relationships Johnson has formed with first-year coach Hubert Davis’ staff this year, be enough to sway the five-star point guard recruit to choose the Tar Heels?

That’s yet to be determined. But as the No. 25 prospect in the class of 2023 approaches a college decision, UNC remains firmly in the mix for the 6-4 guard currently playing in the greater Atlanta area.

“I’m looking to make my decision coming up very soon,” Johnson told Jacob Polacheck of ZAGSBLOG after a Norcross High School game last week. “I’d say in the next three weeks.”

He added of UNC, which moved to 5-2 after a 72-51 home dismantling of No. 24 Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday: “North Carolina was a dream school for me growing up. I’ve always liked them.”

The Tar Heels offered Johnson, a four-star recruit who started his prep basketball career at Charlotte’s Liberty Heights Athletic Institute, in late September and appeared on his top 12 schools list around a month later.

Clemson, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Virginia from the ACC; Alabama, Auburn and Florida from the SEC; Southern California from the Pac-12; and mid-majors Houston and Xavier also made Johnson’s first cut.

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At the time, Johnson had unofficially visited 10 of his 12 finalists and told 247Sports’ Dushawn London that visits to Houston and UNC were in the works. He added that his relationship with Davis, the former UNC swingman and assistant coach who succeeded the retiring Roy Williams in April, is “pretty good.”

“I like Hubert Davis,” Johnson said. “He tells me how he really likes my game and will come out to watch me more. I feel like I'll learn everything I need to learn from them on the visit.”

Johnson averaged a solid 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game for Norcross as a sophomore, but his recruitment truly took off this summer on the Adidas 3SSB circuit for Game Elite.

There, his size and feel for the game drew a rash of Power Five interest and scholarship offers and made him a fast riser on recruiting sites. Johnson debuted in the 247Sports composite rankings as the No. 76 overall player in the class of 2023, and he’s steadily climbed to the No. 25 spot in the months since.

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“His body still has yet to fully mature, but he has the early intangibles and skill set that makes it hard for high coaches not to bank on,” 247Sports’ Brandon Jenkins wrote in a scouting report after watching Johnson play in July. “There are not many guards in the class that possess Johnson’s level of upside as he has a bright future as a lead guard at the high major level if he continues to develop.”

Johnson’s off to a fast start this season for Norcross – his team is 5-1, and he put up 27 points while shooting 6-9 on 3-pointers and adding eight assists and four steals in a Saturday win – and told ZAGSBLOG afterward he hasn’t settled on a final college choice (or a final date to reveal that choice).

“Mainly, my family and I are looking for a style of play that fits my style and a coaching staff that we have a good connection with,” Johnson told 247Sports in October. “Also, we are looking at the history of point guards that have been at each school.”

Johnson is one of eight players in class of 2023 to receive an offer from Davis’ UNC staff. Five-star New Jersey combo guard Simeon Wilcher is the team’s sole junior pledge to date, as the No. 14 overall recruit verbally committed to the Tar Heels during their preseason Late Night scrimmage event last month.

Chapel Fowler is a recruiting reporter for The Fayetteville Observer and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him by email at cfowler@gannett.com or on Twitter at @chapelfowler.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball: Hubert Davis targeting 2023 recruit London Johnson