Just when you thought he ran out of ways to be awesome, Luke Maye is being honored with a prestigious award. This afternoon, the University of North Carolina communications office announced the winners of the Patterson Medal, which is an award given to athletes based off of their athletic achievements. The athletes that receive the award have to have played at least three seasons of sports for the school, and it is an award honoring sportsmanship and leadership. This year, the two athletes that were awarded this prestigious honor were field hockey national champion and National Player of the Year Ashley Hoffman, and 2017 national champion and two-time Academic All-American Luke Maye. Ashley Hoffman started all 96 games of her UNC career in field hockey, and has won three ACC championships and a national title. She won the Honda Sport Award, which is awarded to the country’s top player, was first-team All-America, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was also the Most Valuable Player in the ACC as well as the NCAA Tournaments. She is the first player ever to sweep the Player of the Year / MVP awards in both the ACC and the NCAA in the same season. Hoffman is now the fifth field hockey player to not only have her jersey retired, but to win the Patterson Medal as well. Luke Maye’s career is one that almost needs no introduction — arriving on campus as a walk-on, he worked his way to a scholarship and was the hero in the 2017 Elite Eight game against Kentucky. He went on to become the Most Outstanding Player in the regional, and helped lead the Tar Heels to their sixth NCAA championship, and seventh national championship overall. As far as the rest of his resume goes, he earned first-team All-ACC and third-team All-America honors his junior year, and was second-team all-conference in 2019. He won the ACC Player of the Week award five times, with only Antwan Jamison, Tyler Hansbrough, and Phil Ford earning the award more during their careers. Finally, Maye is a four-time Academic All-ACC honoree, and won Academic All-American honors in 2018 and 2019. Luke Maye is now the sixth Tar Heel under Roy Williams to win the Patterson Award, joining the company of Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Zeller, Marcus Paige, Justin Jackson, and Joel Berry II. Both Maye and Hoffman have made outstanding contributions to their respective sports, and the University of North Carolina as a whole. Their medals will be presented to them during the 2019-20 school year. Congratulations to both of these exceptional individuals!

It was a busy day for Roy Williams. With the summer upon us, the men’s basketball team is beginning the annual tradition of throwing out scholarship offers. After months of largely focusing on a select few prospects in 2020 while they wrapped up the 2019 class, Roy Williams and company are extending their reach into the current crop of rising seniors. Those offers came fast and furious yesterday, as news broke that a trio of prospects received an invitation to join the Heels. Here’s the quick breakdown of each. Earl Timberlake Small Forward6-6, 215 poundsDeMatha Catholic (MD) Timberlake was the first to reportedly receive his offer, according to Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers. North Carolina just extended an offer to five-star junior Earl Timberlake, a source told @Stockrisers.— Jake (@jakeweingarten) June 24, 2019 The forward had an impressive spring, where he averaged 17.9 points and 9.2 rebounds in Nike’s EYBL in 13 games with Team Durant. The small forward from Hyattsville, Maryland attended the NBPA Top 100 camp earlier this month where he garnered attention with his physicality on the perimeter. Not shy about mixing it up and seeking contact at the rim or chasing rebounds, he would provide a toughness at the position that UNC requires from their wings. He’s currently ranked as the #30 overall prospect by the 247Sports Composite and #29 by Rivals. He holds offers from Georgetown, Louisville, Alabama, South Carolina and Maryland, among others. Hunter Dickinson Center7-2, 255DeMatha Catholic (MD) Shortly after news of Timberlake’s offer broke, Evan Daniels confirmed that Hunter Dickinson had also received an offer. The Heels decided to double-dip into DeMatha’s talent pool, as Dickinson and Timberlake are teammates. A true, conventional big man, Dickinson’s size could help provide some rim protection and post presence that has been missing the past few seasons. If you miss the days of good old fashioned hi-lo passes to a legit 7-footer who can finish at the rim, then Dickinson is your dream prospect. Busy offer day for the Tar Heels. Roy Williams offered DeMatha teammates Earl Timberlake and Hunter Dickinson this afternoon.— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) June 24, 2019 Garrison Brooks, Brandon Huffman, and Sterling Manley will be graduating in 2021. Incoming freshman Armando Bacot and 2020 commit Day’Ron Sharpe are both likely to head to the NBA before they exhaust their four years of eligibility. There will eventually be a void (and available playing time!) in the middle. After the past few years of going small(ish), this offer is a clear indication that Roy has every intention of returning to his old-school conventional philosophy for as long as possible. Dickinson is currently ranked as the #27 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite and #28 by Rivals. He holds offers from Louisville, Notre Dame, Purdue and others. Here’s Inside Carolina’s take on the newest big man prospect and a quick video courtesy of Rivals. Dawson Garcia Power Forward/Center6-11, 220 poundsPrior Lake High School (MN) Keeping with the big man theme, the Heels finished the day with an offer to Minnesota big man Dawson Garcia. North Carolina just offered top-40 @adidasD1MN forward Dawson Garcia @clintjackson1 https://t.co/3SiItCTEtM— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) June 25, 2019 The third offer also brought a focus on a third skillset. Though he’s 6-11, Dawson is more of the stretch-4/hybrid forward that UNC has desperately tried to attract in recent recruiting classes. Like Earl Timberlake, he caught the attention of the UNC coaching staff at the NBPA Top 100 camp this month. As Sherrell McMillan reports, a follow-up visit over the weekend sealed the deal to earn an offer. The same situation applies to Garcia as it does to Dickinson. UNC clearly wants to continue to add size in 2020. Playing time will be available as a freshman, but would be abundant in Garcia’s hypothetical sophomore year (2021-22). A stretch big man would certainly cause some mismatch problems, while also still allowing a true center to still bang down low. Garcia is ranked #29 overall by 247Sports Composite and #38 by Rivals. He holds offers from Baylor, Marquette, Texas, Indiana, and Kansas among others. Three offers in one day is not common with Roy Williams, and he likely isn’t done for the week. The new recruiting schedule implemented this year will change how some recruits are evaluated and when they receive offers. That’s especially true for Roy, who is known to be extra careful when extending invitations. At a minimum, it’s encouraging to see a slew of offers to kids currently ranked in the 25-40 range. After several swings and misses last year on top-15 recruits, casting a wider net may help mitigate the amount of uncertainty that existed after this past season. Historically, players in that range are also less likely to leave for the NBA after just one season, providing more long-term stability. In recent years, that’s been a major key to success in March. Make sure to check our recruiting recap later this week, with additional info on basketball and football recruiting efforts and an updated list of current commits and prospects.