In a somewhat expected move, North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson will be going to USC.Stepheson left UNC to be closer to his father, who is in poor health (he left school to be with his dad for a while during the season). He is from the Los Angeles area, but leaving North Carolina was hard.
The rising junior forward averaged 4.3 points and 4.5 rebounds as the Tar Heels' first big man off the bench last season. He was more of a defensive presence who got most of his points on put-backs and shots around the basket. Those things should be nice assets to the Trojans.
However, USC is in a bit of a numbers crunch. They are all tapped out on scholarships now that Demar DeRozen has qualified academically to the school. Stepheson hasn't ruled out being a walk-on next season and then getting a scholarship the next semester.
Despite a chance that the NCAA would waive the mandatory one-year waiting period for transfers, sources say that Stepheson will most likely sit out the 2008-2009 season. Stepheson is hoping the NCAA would allow him to play due to a family medical hardship.
