A top ranked basketball player has committed to the University of Central Florida.
Alex Owens, ranked 44th overall by ESPN.com, is the second player to commit to UCF this year.
“I wanted to stay close to home and be near my family,” Owens told ESPN.com. “I really like coach [Donnie] Jones, their staff and how they are with the players. I just felt different about them than the other schools.”
Owens, who stands at 6-foot-8½, currently plays power forward at Oak Ridge High in Orlando and said that Louisville’s Rick Pitino and Florida’s Billy Donovan had both been to see him in the last two weeks, and that Missouri, Vanderbilt, Marquette and Florida State had also expressed interest, according to ESPN.com.
According to ESPN.com, Owens said that UCF’s move from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference was key.
“They play in the same league as Louisville, Cincinnati and UConn,” Owens told ESPN.com “Louisville won the national title last year. I’m hoping that I can help take this program to another level.”
