North Carolina offers Linn-Mar's Paige

Marcus Paige returned Monday from Chapel Hill, N.C., with some good memories ... and a scholarship offer.

The Linn-Mar junior point guard was officially offered by North Carolina head coach Roy Williams during an unofficial weekend visit that Paige and his father, Ellis, made, Ellis Paige said Monday afternoon. Williams visited Linn-Mar twice before the season to watch Paige workout.

It's at least the ninth scholarship offer for the 6-foot lefty, considered a top 50 recruit nationally. Others include Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Clemson and Virginia.

"Had a great time at North Carolina this weekend," Paige said on his Twitter page.

North Carolina also has offered Houston point guard L.J. Rose, so it'll be interesting to see if this is a first-come, first-served type of deal. Paige said last week that he will cut his list of potential college destinations to around five at the end of this season.