The North Carolina Tar Heels are having quite the off-season. Sure, Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough is coming back ... but no one knows what he's coming back too. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green have all declared for the NBA Draft (they all have the option of coming back to school by the June 16th deadline).
Now comes word that forward Alex Stepheson is leaving school and will transfer somewhere closer to home.
"My family is dealing with some health challenges at this time and as a result I have made the decision to transfer to be closer to home," Stepheson said in a statement released by the school.
"I am extremely, extremely disappointed but I feel so great about Alex that I understand his decision to transfer," UNC Roy Williams said in the release. "... He is a wonderful kid. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching him and know that he would have contributed so much more in the next two years. Nevertheless, I have tremendous respect for Alex and know that he will always be part of our Carolina Basketball family. I'll miss him, but he will always be important to me."
Home, for Stepheson, is the Los Angeles area. Stepheson was UNC's top reserve big man last season and brought much needed toughness on the floor. He turned into one of the team's premiere shotblockers and rebounders.
The fact that Stepheson is transferring is par for the course of UNC's elite 2006 recruiting class. Brandan Wright turned pro after his freshman season; Lawson and Ellington have declared for the draft; and now Stepheson is transferring. The only players left from that class are Deon Thompson and Will Graves.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-17-2008 @ 12:31PM
Dan Gibson said...
Haaahaaaahaaaaaa. Watch out Carolina, the BLUE DEVILS are going to come back strong this year, and take care of business.
Tyler, enjoy your final year at UNC. Without a good supporting cast, opponents will lay down the "D" on you, and those little "baby flip" shots you like to take are going to end up in the same place they did when you played the Jayhawks ... down your throat.
Ancient Chinese proverb: one man can't beat five.
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5-17-2008 @ 10:35PM
Thomas said...
Too bad, I really think Stepheson was in for a big year; I always thought he should be starting ahead of Thompson anyway. He will be missed. But, with the Heels recruiting class, they will be fine...and Green and Ellingtn arnt going anywhere.
And, it seems I remember seeing a lot of "the Blue Devils are going to come back strong this year" comments this time LAST year...how did that turn out for you Dan?
PS Dont schedule Belmont as a non-con opponent!
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5-18-2008 @ 8:19AM
Jack Adams said...
I really hate that. Duke may win the ACC brcause of all those white boys they have. Cry me a river, these two get every break in the world. Rat Face don't ever cheat.
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5-22-2008 @ 8:57PM
Dan Gibson said...
OK Thomas, I saw your stuff; good comeback. I will spell it out for you. The Devils WERE better this year, than last. McRoberts is languishing in the pros right now, because he wasn't ready to go to the NBA (and not nearly as good as he thought). He had no shot whatsoever. Had he stayed at Duke another year, he would have helped them as a rebounder, shot-blocker, and as a complimentary player. Yet, even without him, they were improved. It was predicted that they would be somewhere between 12-16 by most "experts", which is where they finished.
That being said, they WILL be much better next year. The two new recruits (Czyz & Plumlee) will give them what they lacked -- a frontcourt presence. This will let their swing players (Henderson & Scheyer) play in the open court, their guards (Paulus & Smith) drill the 3, and all four will have to play less minutes, so they are less likely to run out of gas in mid-February, as they did this time.
Carolina, it appears, will lose 2-3 of their top 7 players, making Hansbrough have to foot the load more, while the freshmen develop. As I said a few days ago, he will get away with those sick little flip shots far less, now that defenses will be able to key on him. He's a great hustler, but NOT a great basketball player -- he'll be a "star" in his senior season, then go to the NBA, and learn that he will have to become a "3" in the pro game, if he wishes to get minutes.
All that being said, both teams will be at March Madness in 2009, as they are both high quality national programs. Any other questions? Glad to help any way I can.
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5-27-2008 @ 2:46PM
Aaron Cunningham said...
Hey Dan,
It's pretty funny to see a Dookie commenting on this article, bragging about what Kansas did to Tyler in the Final Four. Last time I checked, Dook isn't Kansas. You guys trot out five "starters" every game. Why weren't you able to do that to Psycho T? And while we're on the subject, how did your guys do in the other semi against Memphis? Wait, what? Dook didn't make the Final Four? I guess the only reason none of your players declared for the draft this year is because none of them are good enough to watch at the next level, much less play there. Maybe you should stay off the internet help JJ Redick get the splinters out of his butt. He's been all over the pine since he left Dook...
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