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The Tigers' 6-foot-5 do-it-all wing player chose the Panthers on Wednesday night, passing on offers from UNCG and Appalachian. He had received interest from some bigger schools - Wake, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miami - but wanted to wrap up his decision before his junior year.

"I decided to stay close to home," Canty told scout.com. "My family thought it was a good decision. I dreamed about going somewhere bigger but deep down inside I want that education and I want to go to college. I took note of how colleges get really interested in you and they told me they really wanted me. I was proud of that."

Canty was a first-team all-area selection last season after posting 17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2 blocks a game. Here's our all-area video interview with him:

UPDATE: Ragsdale head coach Craig Shoemaker on Canty's development: "His freshman year, he would really just take the ball to the basket, shoot an occasional 3-pointer. Now he's got a much more complete mid-range game, he's a much better defender, he's just learned to take over a game. He's still very unselfish, and he understands that taking over a game doesn't necessarily mean he has to score, just put the team in the right position. And he's become much more of a vocal leader. He works so hard that when he says something, it means something to the other guys."