Posts tagged Alex Stepheson at FanHouse

It would seem as if the only drama going on at the NBA's pre-draft camp is the status of the three North Carolina Tar Heels that declared for the draft.

Heels fans have been vocal about wanting these guys back and how they aren't ready for The League. It seems that UNC guard Ty Lawson is kind of coming to this conclusion, as well:

North Carolina guard Ty Lawson said Wednesday if he's not confident he'll go 20th or better in the NBA draft, he'll pull out of the process and return to North Carolina for his junior season.

He said his challenge this week at the NBA pre-draft camp is convincing teams his left ankle is healed and showing he'll take -- and make -- jump shots when the opportunity is there.

This goes against Lawson's statement that he doesn't like the "test the waters" phrase since it implies that he's not seriously ready to go to the NBA. However, it is the first nugget of information that Carolina fans have been wanting to hear.

The other is this: guard Wayne Ellington really struggled in his first pre-draft game on Wednesday. He hit just one of his five shots from behind the arc (remember, the NBA arc) and committed six turnovers.

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.

One year ago, UNC ... a national championship contender ranked #4 ... went into Littlejohn Coliseum at Clemson to face the 17-1 Tigers. They left with a creaming of Clemson, 77-55, and the Tigers would go on to lose 9 of 11 games. In that game, Clemson made a horrid 5-of-19 from the free throw line.

Same sort of story heading into this year's game. North Carolina enters the game at 14-0 and the #1 ranked team in the land. Clemson is 12-1 heading into their ACC opener. This will be a big game for Clemson to see if they are indeed a different team from last year and one to be reckoned with in the ACC.

UNC comes into this game lacking its usual depth. Bobby Frasor is done for the season after tearing up his knee, Quentin Thomas is recovering from a sprained ankle and Alex Stepheson has been in California tending to his sick dad. If Stepheson doesn't play, that will be big news in facing a big Clemson front line who is tenacious on the boards.

Clemson may have trouble with their patented press. Last year, they used the press to confuse a freshmanTy Lawson into a career low two points, three assists and seven turnovers. Lawson is a completely different play now, as an aggressive playmaker who has shown good range of late.

The big matchup, of course, will be Tyler Hansbrough and James Mays, two physical players who may be the best interior players in the league.

The Tar Heels lead the all-time series, ahem, 118-19.