On Thursday for the third straight day DeShawn Stevenson said he’s headed to the NBA.
“Yes, I’m going,” Stevenson, Kansas University’s 6-foot-5 basketball signee from Fresno, Calif.’s Washington High, told the Journal-World a day after his mother informed the Fresno Bee, “nothing’s final yet.”
Against his mother’s and stepdad’s wishes, Stevenson apparently has made his entry into the draft official.
The McDonald’s All-American told Mike Sullivan of Insider’s Report on Thursday night he’s mailed his letter to the NBA, asking commissioner David Stern to place his name in 2000 NBA Draft pool.
Receipt of that letter would disqualify Stevenson from his KU letter-of-intent. High schoolers cannot apply for the draft then change their minds later.
“I sent the letter in Wednesday,” Stevenson told Sullivan, predicting he’d be taken “between 20 and 25” in the first round.
Earlier Thursday, Stevenson told various media sources, including the J-W, he’d not yet sent a letter to Stern.
Confusion may rule until May 21, when the NBA releases its list of underclassmen and high school players who have applied for the draft.
Stevenson canceled a press conference, but did issue a statement to the Fresno Bee Wednesday announcing for the NBA.
“I am confident this is the best move for me at this point in my career. My decision was motivated by the fact I am projected to be a solid first-round draft choice in the NBA Draft, and that I was unable to qualify academically for college. It has always been a dream of mine to play basketball in the NBA, at the highest level of the game.”
Kansas coach Roy Williams, who has yet to speak to Stevenson, declined comment Thursday, telling a KU official he did not think the issue was finalized yet.
Stevenson’s mother, Genice Popps, is upset her son is headed to the pros.
“He’s not ready to go away from home, even if he was going to Kansas. That’s my biggest fear,” Popps told the Fresno Bee. “Going to Kansas would be an adjustment, and this is a bigger adjustment than college. We’re talking permanently.”
Popps said she has asked Rod Thorn to explore Stevenson’s possible position in the draft.
“When I get my information, I think he’ll look at it in a different aspect,” Popps said of her 19-year-old son who does not need parental approval to enter the draft.
“This is hard on my family right now. The reality is: ‘This is driving my family apart.’ This is reality that something like this can come between a son and his mother. It’s sad, really sad.”
She blames outside forces for talking Stevenson into declaring for the draft.
She has blamed Darren Matsubara, Stevenson’s longtime summer coach; Marc Q. Jones, a former Fresno, Washington player now with the Orlando Magic and Sonny Vaccaro, in charge of adidas’ summer basketball program.
All three denied influencing Stevenson. All three told the Bee the player was a certain first-round pick.
I did one thing for DeShawn,” Vaccaro said. “He asked how do I think he’d do in the draft. I said first round. How do I know? Because I called around the NBA for a month. And I did it for a bunch of kids.”
ESPN.com reports the Orlando Magic “love Stevenson’s athleticism and work ethic.”
KU senior-to-be Eric Chenowith on Stevenson’s decision: “I support his decision 100 percent whether he wants to come here or go NBA,” Chenowith said Thursday on David Lawrence’s weekly radio show. “He’s a kid living his dream. From a selfish standpoint, I want him to come here. He’s a great player and can contribute to our team. Right now I want to support him. If he wants to live his dream, I want him to do that.”