UCLA wasted no time exploring the possibility of landing North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson.
Hours after the former Harvard Westlake star announced Friday that he'll transfer closer to home, UCLA assistant coach Scott Garson left a message inquiring about Stepheson, the 6-foot-9 sophomore's former high school coach said. Stepheson's decision caught Harvard Westlake coach Greg Hilliard by surprise, but he does expect UCLA to be one of the schools the big man considers.
"UCLA is the obvious choice, but he could surprise us all and go to a smaller school," Hilliard said. "He's kept this totally private. His transfer comes as a complete surprise to me, probably because I was against making a change."
Hilliard encouraged Stepheson to remain loyal to North Carolina, but the sophomore cited his father's health as the primary reason for his transfer. Stepheson missed two games in the middle of last season to be with his dad, who was suffering from an undisclosed illness.
Stepheson was North Carolina's first post player off the bench last season, averaging 4.3 points and 4.5 rebounds. He likely would have come off the bench again next season with starters Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson slated to return.
"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," Stephenson said in a statement released by North Carolina.
UCLA would have an open scholarship for Stepheson assuming at least two of its four early-entry candidates remain in the NBA draft. One of those scholarships is likely ticketed for J'Mison Morgan, the LSU signee who was released from his letter of intent this week and has said he will come to UCLA.

Leave a comment

Name: (required)

Email: (required; will not be displayed)

URL:  (optional)

Remember personal info?

Comment: (you may use basic HTML tags for style)

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.

Note: You will need to re-enter the captcha field after previewing