Alex Stepheson took a lot of time to decide where he was going and even considered schools not as close to his home. It sort of undermined his case that he was transferring due to a family illness. Williams announced his transfer and then decided pretty quickly to attend Memphis which was in his hometown.

Of course, I’d boast we have nearly the best frontcourt in all of ncaa basketball. So maybe I’m a homer!

Thanks for the props! I’m just glad to share my thoughts with all of ya’s. I didn’t even bother to follow that link about proclaiming Dook’s backcourt as the nation’s best. To enter that covnersation, they need to at least hold the water when compared to the likes of Villanova, Kansas, Michigan State, and now Kentucky. Some may tire of may sarcastic rips on the likes of Andre Dawkins and John Scheyer, but I can’t say how comfortable I am with those two leading the backcourt charge for the Blue Devils. For all we know, we could be talking about a Dawkins transfer this time next year.

It’s almost like you can pick the Dook recruits out a mile away these days. I can’t tell you how frustrating it was back in the dark days, when you would see all of these five-star recruits listing Dook as their first or second choice school. I was never more concerned than when Dook signed that class in 1999, fresh off of one of the most dominant ACC seasons ever. It was like, “do we even have a chance out-recruiting these guys anymore?”

By the way, after having read, and then re-read several books on the history of North Carolina basketball, here is an interesting list of players who at one point looked to be headed to Chapel Hill, only to make late choices (some were rat-bitten) to go elsewhere:

G-Kenny Anderson (didn’t want to be “another horse in Dean Smith’s stable”)
G-Bobby Hurley (grew up a UNC fan, but chose Dook after Dean told him that the guard listed above was the Heels’ #1 choice
G-Jay Williams (would have committed to UNC had Dean been the coach)
G-Mike Dunleavy (his dad wanted him to play for Dean Smith, and the son was an admitted UNC fan)
F-Danny Ferry (the first of many “rat-bitten” Dookies who chose not to sign with UNC because they could not get gauranteed playing time as freshmen…how The Rat has capitalized on being UNC’s neighboor)
F-Grant Hill (and so the story goes that Dean went to the Hills’ posh home for dinner one night, only to be told be GH’s parents that thier son was going to Dook…needless to say, Dean was NOT a happy camper)
F-Tom McMillen (Dean lost this recruiting battle at the very last minute when the player’s parents intervened as essentially chose Maryland for thier son because of the proximity to their house)
C-Shaquille O’Neal (I’m truly surprised that this doesn’t get much run on discussion boards, in that Shaq gave Dean a handshake, “90% sure” commitment, and then daddy stepped in and basically made his son stay closer to home)
F-Danny Manning (thanks a lot Larry Brown)
F-Christian Laettner (yes, it’s true…and legend has it that he changed his mind when he saw a sign on J.R. Reid’s door that said “F— Duke”
F-Earl “J.R.” Smith (of recent folklore, this one still has some buzz to it in that Smith recently had his breakout playoff series; thus, unleashing all the “what if” conversations about a UNC backcourt of Felton, Smith, and McCants)
F-Delvon Roe (retracted late to be closer to home…no worries, you just had to stomach getting crushed by the Heels twice in the same season)
C-Kevin Love (okay, we never really had a great shot at this one, but the fact that he was the only five-star on Roy’s wish list circa 2007 says it all)

and, not seeing a complete link, JB.

Here’s the link. http://bleacherreport.com/arti…-in-the-country

* Said bandwagon fans can now be found 8 miles down the road…