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Central Florida lands four-star 2015 forward Alex Owens

Alex Owens

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Central Florida is making the move to the American this season, but the Knights also have something to look forward to in 2015 with the arrival of its latest recruit, Oak Ridge High (Fla.) power forward Alex Owens.

The 6-foot-8 Owens committed to UCF on Tuesday, according to ESPN College Basketball Insider Jeff Goodman.

“I wanted to stay close to home and be near my family,” Owens told Goodman. “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.”

This is an impressive commit for Central Florida. Owens is ranked as the No. 71 overall player in the Class of 2015 according to Rivals. Despite only entering his junior season, the Orlando, Fla. native held offers from Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, Missouri, N.C. State and Providence.

This summer, Owens played in the Nike EYBL with the eventual Peach Jam champion Each 1 Teach 1 (Fla.). During the Peach Jam in July, Owens saw an increase in his production. He averaged 9.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He played alongside Duke commit Grayson Allen, North Carolina bound Joel Berry and D’Angelo Russell, who is committed to Ohio State.

He also also averaged 11.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game for USA South in the Nike Global Challenge. He ended the four-game showcase with back-to-back double doubles (14 points, 11 rebounds; 17 points, 10 rebounds) against USA Midwest and USA West.

Owens is the second commit UCF has received this summer. In August, Boone High (Fla.) point guard B.J. Taylor became the lone commit in its Class of 2014.

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