ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

Twenty-five seconds later, Stephen stole the ball from Akron guard Isaiah Gray, eventually leading to a 3-pointer from ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Grant Weitman.

And, about a half-hour after that, Stephen was still animated, his energetic personality helping light up the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ locker room after the Wildcats’ 93-65 win over the Zips in an NCAA Tournament first-round game on March 21.

But the sting of inactivity was also apparent.

“My time will come,� said Stephen, who headed to the transfer portal earlier this week. “It’s really hard.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s load of experienced frontcourt talent that included Tobe Awaka, Henri Veesaar and Trey Townsend — plus the fact that Stephen is a longer-term prospect with intriguing but raw skills — led to Stephen spending most of the season on the bench.

The Nigerian native was even planning to redshirt at the beginning of the season when center Motiejus Krivas returned from a preseason ankle/foot injury to play in UA’s first eight games.

But once Krivas suffered a setback with his injury, Stephen put on a Wildcat uniform, sitting out ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Dec. 14 loss to UCLA but making his presence known immediately in his debut against Samford on Dec. 18.

Less than a minute after entering the Samford game, Stephen raced downcourt on the break and elevated to slam in an alley-oop feed from Martinez.

Because Stephen was a split-second ahead of Martinez’s pass, he instead arched backward as he rose, then tipped the pass high off the glass, with just enough angle that the ball fell directly into the hoop.

“Heck of a tip-in,� UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after that game.

But on Samford’s next possession, Stephen fell for a fake under the basket by Samford’s Jaden Brownell and fouled him, then committed another foul when he took too much momentum into another Samford player under the basket.

“I don’t even know if he knows what butterflies are,� Lloyd said then. “That guy just comes out and he’s going to play balls to the wall. That’s going to be his greatest strength, his activity and his energy.�

Stephen played nine minutes in UA’s next game against Central Michigan, setting season-highs in points and rebounds with six each, and played another nine minutes in UA’s 92-78 win at Oklahoma State on Jan. 21 when Awaka and Veesaar were in foul trouble.

But he played only briefly in four other Big 12 games, not at all in the Big 12 Tournament and only against Akron in the NCAA Tournament, prodding himself to keep going behind the scenes.

“That’s the biggest part — just stay patient, keep working, keep improving,� Stephen said. “Sometimes because you don’t play, you want to slow down and stop working but no, one day it’s gonna payoff.�

Stephen also said after the Akron game that he knew he was in a good program at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, and spoke highly of Lloyd, but now he appears headed toward seeking a payoff somewhere else.

As of midday Tuesday, according to a post from 247’s Travis Branham, Stephen had already heard from UNLV, Syracuse, Villanova, USC, Florida Atlantic and Virginia Tech, among others.

Ex-ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ star Oscar Cluff joins Purdue

After one-year stops at Washington State last season and South Dakota State this season, former ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ College center Oscar Cluff announced he was transferring to Purdue for what will be a fifth season of college basketball.

“I can’t wait to be a BOILERMAKER!� Cluff posted to X.

A native of Australia, Cluff played two seasons at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, becoming a second-team juco all-American in 2022-23 before helping Washington State reach the NCAA Tournament last season and then becoming a finalist for the Lou Henson mid-major player of the year this season.

Now he’s taking advantage of a blanket waiver that allows a fifth year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who have played four college seasons but not all at the Division I level.

The waiver was implemented in the wake of a lawsuit from Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who argued that two previous years of juco ball should not count against his Division I eligibility clock and thus deprive him of NIL opportunities.

After Cluff dominated Horizon League competition while averaging 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds for South Dakota State this season, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach Jerry Carrillo said Cluff entered the transfer portal soon after it opened on March 24.

“He had a hell of a year,� Carrillo said. Entering the portal “was a no-brainer. He received a lot of calls.�

Five-star guard Burries nears decision

While preparing for Tuesday’s McDonald’s All-American Game, five-star guard Brayden Burries told ESPN he is “almost readyâ€� to announce his college choice between ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, Oregon, Alabama, Tennessee and USC.

Meanwhile, new UA commit Koa Peat said during pregame interviews that “me and him would complement each other wellâ€� at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, according to Adam Zagoria.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has Peat, four-star forward Dwayne Aristode and three-star guard Bryce James lined up so far for its class of 2025.

Rim shots

— Draft Express rated KJ Lewis the 13th top transfer in the portal and Veesaar the 14th, after both headed to the portal after UA’s season ended last week.

— Peat said he has been cleared to start shooting with his broken hand, though he did not play in Tuesday’s McDonald’s Game because of the injury.