BREAKING: 5-Star Stevenson cuts list to 3, could commit this weekend

By Jerry Ratcliffe

The nation’s top power forward, 5-star Jarin Stevenson, has officially cut his list to three schools and Virginia is still in the hunt.

Stevenson, a 6-foot-10 standout from Pittsboro, N.C., announced on his Twitter on Friday that he has narrowed his choices to Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama.

“Thank you to everyone who has recruited me,” Stevenson wrote, then named the three schools, with photos of him wearing uniforms of the Cavaliers, Tar Heels and Crimson Tide.

Stevenson indicated that he may commit to a school by this weekend, which means that he would reclassify to the current recruiting class. He told 247Sports’ Travis Branham, a national recruiting analyst, that if he doesn’t commit this weekend, then he will delay a decision on reclassifying until later this summer.

Thank you to everyone who has recruited me. 🙏🙏🙏
My top 3 are @UVAMensHoops ⚔️ @UNC_Basketball 🐏 and @AlabamaMBB 🐘 pic.twitter.com/nhWJ7V8136

— Jarin Stevenson (@JarinStevenson) June 16, 2023

“I have to review everything and see what’s the best situation,” Stevenson told Branham. “I am not 100-percent sure yet on anything.”

Stevenson recently told his hometown newspaper, the Chatham (NC) News + Record, that he had put a lot of thought into reclassifying.

“The benefits of reclassifying are, first, getting used to a college system quicker,” Stevenson said. “Also, the NBA likes younger prospects. Getting into college quicker would make me younger for the NBA Draft, which would be helpful. But staying another year would get me more looks, because as a senior, I’d be playing a little bit lesser competition and I could show off more of my skills. I’d probably be more free in a high school setting. Those would be the advantages of coming back.”

His most recent visit was to North Carolina, which is boasting the nation’s top recruiting class for 2024. He told the newspaper that the reputation of UNC as one of the nation’s “bluebloods” caught his attention.

“I love the prestige at Carolina,” he said. “They’re very well-known. They have a lot of respect. The fans are passionate, too. And I do love that they’re close to home. It’s only 15 minutes away from my house.”

He told 247Sports that he likes Alabama’s playing style because the Tide plays an NBA offense and plays good defense.

On Virginia: “Great community over there. I like the principles they have. I love how they teach you a lot about defense. They pride themselves on defense. Coach (Tony) Bennett is a great guy and he follows his Christian faith, teaches his players to be the best person they can be and he’s not just going to teach you about basketball, he will also teach you to be a good person.”