Losing David and Travis Wear to an unexpected transfer became less of a problem for North Carolina on Monday night when Alabama transfer Justin Knox committed to the Tar Heels.
Knox, who's played three seasons for the Crimson Tide, is a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward who plans to graduate from Alabama this summer and enroll at North Carolina as a graduate student. Under the NCAA's graduate student waiver program, he should be eligible to play for the Tar Heels immediately if he chooses a degree program that Alabama does not offer.
"Everyone in the family is excited," said Darien Knox, Justin's uncle, who announced the commitment. "Everyone in the family is looking forward to Justin becoming a Tar Heel."
Justin Knox plans to make a statement to the media Tuesday explaining his decision. Darien Knox said both finalists, North Carolina and Georgia Tech, made Justin feel like family on his visits, and said North Carolina assistant coach Steve Robinson did an outstanding job recruiting Justin.
Knox averaged 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game last season for Alabama, but decided to transfer in part because he didn't feel like he was fitting into the system after coach Anthony Grant's first season.
By providing immediate, experienced help in the low post, Knox should give the Tar Heels' fortunes a huge boost next season. The Wear twins' departure had left North Carolina with just two scholarship players - John Henson and Tyler Zeller - as true low-post players.
Ken Tysiac
Monday, May 24, 2010
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24 comments:
Oh boy! This is great news! We should have a parade for a guy who averaged 6 points a game at, SEC powerhouse, Alabama.
This is just who the Tarheels need to propel them into next year's CBI tournament. Virginia Commonwealth you better look out.
Shut. Up. If you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything at all. And if you are not a Tar Heel fan then when you see ...Tar Heels in the subject line of the story don't click. Also, if you are going to type Tar Heels then spell it correctly...it's two words! Always has been, always will be.
lol. hilarious.
Well said. There are always bozo's on here who have absolutely nothing good to say. Congrats on the pick up. Experience is needed on such a young team.
10:05 shut up!! haha....is someone a little sensitive about their "tarheels?" Instead of grammar corrections, just be happy, be happy that you have a 6pt a game stud coming to crapple hill! Quit being so sensitive Nancy!
what is happening to our Heels? Crap!
UNC is replacing 2 underachiving players with 1 underachieving player.
Sounds good to me. Go Pack!!!
Go Pack??? Am I mistaking, or did the heels not sweep the Pack last year?
Maybe not MacAdoo, but any help will be appreciated
If you have to fill depth and sign a player that you normally wouldn't recruit, it's best to pick up a one-year rental than a 4 year commitment.
Nice job, Roy.
You State fans suck, as usual. Enjoy your continual mediocrity.
Any ribbing by a State fan will have to be looked at as nothing more than sheer hilarity. I mean really? If I am not mistaken, we were terrible last season and still beat you twice. I could also be wrong, but the we ended the season of the team that ended yours....Nice try though.
This is NOT the Carolina way! Pathetic that WE have to take an SEC castoff! Coach W, you are on the CLOCK!
UNC-CH will continue it's slow slide to the bottom with bottom feeders like this guy who was a bench rider in the SEC. You kidding yourselves if you think this guys is anything but a warm body. Roy is in deep trouble. Maybe next year Roy can compare his situation to the Gulf Oil spill and not the Haitian earthquake.
Knox: The next guy to go for 20 & 10 against NC State.
UNC's lesser players make a habit of showing up during the semiannual embarrassment of NC State, and NC State's fans are those least entitled to make predictions about UNC's demise.
Life was much harder just after the turn of the century, and they were certain the glory days were over then, with the classic lovable runner-up, Roy, coming to Carolina. Remember all that talk?
It's funny how NCSU supporters can make 2005 or 2009 sound like so long ago and 1983 sound like last week.
UNC will win at least another before State even sniffs their third title.
I'll end by suggesting that you all lay off of Knox, who came up big in 'Bama's toughest games, and who will probably be the next super-sub to outwork and own State's cast of young talent next year.
Roy is in "deep trouble"?
Ha!
If he is in deep, with two championships in the past five years and a top five recruiting class for 2010 (and a comparably good group of classes lined up for '11, '12 and so on), then where, oh where, does that leave NC State?
NCSU has one solid recruiting class the year after they failed to look competitive against a bad UNC team (which surged late -- don't act like NC State fans wouldn't be trumpeting an NIT runner-up performance as a harbinger of coming success), and suddenly State fans forget how truly miserable their program has been by comparison?
NC State's athletic programs, taking both the long view and a more narrow perspective, are a shambles by comparison.
There are reasons UNC is already being picked in the top 15 next year by prognosticators who were so badly burned by them last year, and one of those reasons is that they will be fielding the best freshman in the country next year.
Knox isn't going to be starting, and from day one he will fit in better and bring more off of the bench than the Wears did -- neither of whom were true defensive post player, like UNC needs and like Knox is. This guy will be as good as any other ACC bench post-man -- and that is all that the Heels need to compete in the ACC.
"Knox isn't going to be starting, and from day one he will fit in better and bring more off of the bench than the Wears did..."
More revisionist history by yet another UNC-CH fluffer. Ol Roy has sunk into a deep depression and he's dragging the baby blues with him. That's a shame.
The rest of the ACC is waiting until Roy Williams compares his dire situation to the Gulf Oil Crisis.
Man, you almost feel sorry for the Holes.
Nice! Another easy sweep of the Holes by the Devils next year. So sorry Roy!
Breaking news: David and Travis Wear sign with UCLA. At least now they'll have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.
I just love listening to Convict U & Duke fans talk smack. When's the last time Kentucky won a national championship? Been over a decade ago hasn't it? Ha, and now they think they can win with a handful of freshmen. When has that happened...ever? Duke won last year by default, I'll give them more respect this year, especially with Singler choosing Duke over the NBDL. People that look at only one bad year fail to realize that it's a cycle at UNC. By the way, yeah we got Knox...we also got #1 Harrison Barnes, so keep laughing...
Breaking news: David and Travis Wear sign with UCLA. At least now they'll have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.....
***Almost as smart as a UCLA grad aren't you? Hey tard, did UCLA make the tourney last year? When was the last time they won a title? Carolina has 2 within the last 6 years...nuff said***
Oh, almost forgot... Heard that Poppa Wear is trying to walk on the team... LMAO... Peace.
"Knox isn't going to be starting, and from day one he will fit in better and bring more off of the bench than the Wears did..."
Where's the revision? His averages are better, and he fills the need better. He actually can play post defense, which they need more than a pair of power forwards who would rather shoot threes and long jumpers.
I'm all for a decent discussion of area basketball, but it seems the anti-UNC folks are always grasping at straws.
There are few measures you can take by which UNC is not the best program in the state.
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