Cincy hoops lands McDonald’s All-American
Stephenson settles on Bearcats after lengthy recruiting process
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At 6-5, Stephenson can play any of the three perimeter positions. He led Lincoln High to four consecutive Class AA New York City Public League championships.
Cincinnati looks at Stephenson as a pro-level talent who can add scoring punch to an NCAA Tournament contender—and an elite recruit who can elevate the program's profile in pursuing other top prospects.
He is the first McDonald's All-American to choose Cincinnati under Mick Cronin as head coach. As an assistant under Bob Huggins, Cronin recruited the last McDonald's stars to join the program: guards DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield.
Stephenson's first college choice had been Kansas, which he selected nearly three months ago, but the Jayhawks asked him to delay making a public commitment while waiting for the NCAA to examine questions about his amateurism.
Almost immediately afterward, John Calipari left Memphis for the head coaching job at Kentucky, which freed top-10 wing Xavier Henry from his letter of intent at Memphis. Kansas preferred Henry and offered him a scholarship, leaving none available for Stephenson.
That left several other schools recruiting Stephenson, including St. John's and Maryland. Florida also recruited Stephenson and, a source said, still was pursuing him as recently as this weekend.
Stephenson still has a misdemeanor sexual assault case pending against him in court. On Monday, the case was delayed until July 15.
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