Stepheson commits to North Carolina

Alex Stepheson, the 6-foot-10, 215-pound power forward from Harvard Westlake High School in Studio City, Calif., made a decision about his future just minutes ago. During a press conference at his high school, Stepheson, the No. 57 ranked player in the class of 2006, gave a verbal commitment to Roy Williams and North Carolina.

"It really came down to North Carolina, Connecticut and UCLA," said Stepheson. "I prayed about my decision a lot and knew that I couldn't make a wrong choice. I decided to give a commitment to North Carolina because I just felt that everything is in place there.

"UNC just kept feeling like the right place for me," he added. "I cannot wait to play for Coach (Roy) Williams."

After taking official visits to Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Connecticut and UCLA, Stepheson, the No. 13 ranked power forward in the class, spent quite a bit of time talking about his decision with his family and coach. After making a final decision about his future, there is no doubt that those close to Stepheson are extremely happy with his decision.

"It's awesome to be able to see a player that you coached go to a school like North Carolina," said Harvard Westlake head coach Greg Hilliard. "Alex going to North Carolina is going to make watching college basketball an even bigger treat for me."

Alex Stepheson Scouting Report: Stepheson is a finesse style power forward who has the potential to develop into a small forward. He has good hands and feet and is quick to the ball but needs to develop more strength to consistently come up with the ball and finish in traffic. In the post he has nice spin moves either direction, although he does have the tendency to spin himself into traffic when he would be better served to shoot a simple turn around jumper. -Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com