I am with Doc on this one. It seems like a no brainer with the caveat being Justin Knox has a one year old child who is living with his girlfriend in Alabama so distance from them might be an issue. The other side of the equation is in this quote from Knox:
"There was a better opportunity for me somewhere else to reach my goal of playing in the NBA,'' he said. "That was the main reason.''
Knox gave this as his reason for leaving Alabama but yet his first choice, were it not for the transfer restrictions, was...UAB? UAB is not known for producing NBA players but this could speak to how much the proximity to his family matters which is to say quite a bit.
At any rate, the list has been narrowed to UNC or Georgia Tech with both having "identical opportunities" according to Knox. If the goal of playing in the NBA is paramount for Knox then his decision will ultimately be weighted on connections vs playing time. UNC has the connections with Roy Williams on a first name basis with one NBA owner, a general manager and three coaches and a slew of current/former players. The playing time at UNC might not be as plentiful but his chances at development are probably better than at Georgia Tech where he could very well start. The difference in the coaching is vast and when I say vast I am talking Grand Canyon.
Knox said he will be looking to make a decision by the start of summer school at Alabama which is June 1st. That is a possible fly in the proverbial ointment since Knox still needs 12 hours at Bama to graduate thus allowing him to transfer without the one year penalty. By all accounts, Knox carries a high GPA while majoring in business administration so knocking out 12 more hours should not be an issue, otherwise UNC is left holding the bag.
I can only assume UNC is at least keeping Kadeem Jack on speed dial just in case Knox opts for Atlanta but if something happens and we find out come July that Knox will not be graduating, things could get hairy. As for Jack, he is probably ripe for the plucking considering Kentucky got commits from Eloy Vargas and Terrence Jones in the post. Jack has other schools on his list but UNC would probably be option #1 if they offer. The last I heard about Jack was UNC coaches were still evaluating him which probably means they want to see how the Knox situation unfolds first since I have a suspicion that Roy only wants to burn one of the Wear scholarships for next season. If that is the case I have zero argument with that approach.