Four-star 7-foot Nigerian center Emmanuel Stephen is scheduled to visit Arizona for its Red-Blue Showcase on Friday, according to On3's Joe Tipton, and the Wildcats appear to lead for him.
Stephen, a class of 2024 rim protector who now plays for Giendale Dream City and is a club-ball teammate of UA commits Jamari Phillips and Carter Bryant, told On3.com that he will announce his college choice on Oct. 3. Earlier this month, he told On3 and 24/7 High School Sports that he would visit Kansas on Oct. 6 for its Late Night in the Phog preseason celebration.
The Crystal Ball at 247 Sports logged two predictions for Arizona on Wednesday, including one by Wildcat Authority's Jason Scheer, while burnerball.com did the same on Wednesday.
Stephen has listed a top five of Kansas, Michigan, Miami, Arizona, and USC.
2024 4โญ๏ธ Emmanuel Stephen tells me heโs cut his list to five schools. Here are the programs heโs considering:ArizonaUSCMiamiMichiganKansasStephen is a major physical presence around the rim on both ends. A fantastic shot-blocker, good rim-runner and serious lob-threat.โฆ pic.twitter.com/74YRcQz8l6
— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) September 14, 2023
With 215 pounds on his 7-foot frame, Stephen has advanced quickly since taking up basketball several years ago (reports of the starting date vary from 2017 to 2020). He played soccer as a youth before attending two academies in Nigeria, moving to the Ivory Coast and then the United States.ย
While playing with Bryant and Phillips on the Paul George Elite club last spring, Stephen became the second-leading shot-blocker on the EYBL circuit with an average of 2.8 per game. He also averaged 4.5 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 56.9%.
On3's Jamie Shaw wrote that Stephen is a ferocious rebounder with good timing around the basket and a natural rim protector.
"There is something to be said about a brute force of nature who protects the paint and keeps errant shots away from the rim," Shaw wrote.ย "Stephenโs offense is relegated around the basket, providing vertical spacing in the dunker spot, as the roll man in the pick-and-roll and creating his own offense on the offensive glass. He has a strong frame with great length, but a lot of his rim protection comes from his high motor and the relentless nature (in which) he pursues the ball."
Stephen is rated the No. 86 player overall in the class of 2014 by 247 Sports and 84 in the 247 Sports composite rankings.
VIDEO:ย UA and NBA alumni Channing Frye and Richardson Jefferson share their thoughts on Arizona basketball's iconic jerseys and look during a virtual interview Sept. 27, 2023 ahead of the the Wildcats' 2023 Red-Blue Showcase. Frye and Jefferson are in Tucson to co-host the Sept. 29 event. (Video courtesy Arizona Athletics)
