In three weeks, Pelham forward Alex Reese should know where he's going to play college basketball.

The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Reese, a four-star recruit ranked No. 87 in the national 247Sports composite, is down to UAB and Alabama as his finalists. Reese made an unofficial visit to Arizona State last month, but cancelled a planned official visit to Georgia.

"I'm down to UAB and 'Bama," Reese said. "Those are my final two and then I'll be making my decision. (It came down to) lot of different things, but I think I'd rather just stay closer to home."

Reese made his official visit to UAB the weekend of Sept. 2, and he'll officially visit Alabama the weekend of Oct. 1, when the Crimson Tide hosts Kentucky in football.

UAB coaches watched Reese work out at Pelham last Friday and he hosted Alabama head coach Avery Johnson for an in-home visit Sunday.

Reese has been spotted at numerous UAB games over the years. Alabama assistant Antoine Pettway identified Reese early as well, as former head coach Anthony Grant offered Reese during his sophomore season and Johnson, heading into his second season, kept the offer intact.

Reese had a better relationship with former UAB head coach Jerod Haase and assistant Jeff Wulbrun, but both left for Stanford. He said the official visit strengthened his bond with Robert Ehsan, who was promoted to the UAB head coaching spot in April.

"They have this point-forward type concept that they're really trying to get me to come play there for," Reese said. "It means I'll be handling the ball a lot. It'll be in my hands a lot making different type of plays.

"I got a better feel of the coaching staff there and a better feel of the players when I took my official. I've built pretty good relationships with them."

Reese said he hung out mostly with William "Haha" Lee, a UAB standout forward heading into his junior season.

"They're all pretty cool," Reese said of the players. "They want me to come play with them."

The allure of playing in the SEC is there for Reese at Alabama, but he said conference affiliation isn't a big deal.

"Just the connections they have and Coach Johnson," Reese said, when asked about Alabama. "Playing for the home state is pretty cool.

"They say they'll play me as a 4-man who can really do a lot of things. They'll allow me to shoot the threes, take the bigger guys on the dribble and work on my post game and stuff."

Last season, Reese averaged 25.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and one block for Pelham, earning first-team All-State honors. Pelham head coach Joel Floyd feels that Reese has handled the recruiting process well.

"It really hasn't changed him, hasn't changed the way he's at school or how he deals with people," Floyd said. "He's a polite young man who keeps to himself for the most part and he stays pretty level-headed through the whole process."

Reese has been pretty low-key throughout his recruitment, but offered up this when asked the biggest factor in making his decision.

"Where I feel like I can get to the next level," Reese said. "I'm going to try to (sign in November). After that visit (to Alabama), I'll pretty much know where I'm going to go."