Stevenson, who averaged 28 points as a senior, is considered a probable first-round pick for the draft on June 28.

Kansas coach Roy Williams confirmed Stevenson's decision. "This spring has been a very stressful time for DeShawn and his family," Williams said. "Now that the decision has been made, we in the Kansas basketball family should support him. This youngster is a fine young man who signed with KU in the fall, and wanted to be a Jayhawk. Now he has decided to move in a different direction, and I understand and support that. He has decided to pursue another dream and there is nothing wrong with that."

Unlike players already in college, high school seniors are not permitted to retract their signed declaration. A non-qualifier, Stevenson said on May 7 that he'd changed his mind about turning pro after learning that his latest SAT score was good enough to allow him to play for a Division I school next season. His score on the SAT was reportedly then later disqualified because it improved so much.

"It went up 700 points," said Stevenson, who first took the test two years ago as a high school sophomore. "They said it went up too much."

If Stevenson had enrolled at Kansas he would not have been able to play next season unless he retook the test and achieved a qualifying score. He could have attended Kansas as a partial qualifier on scholarship and practiced with the team, but could not have played in any games. Stevenson met Thursday night with Williams, and said the coach advised him to take the test again.

Stevenson joins St. John's recruit Darius Miles as the only high schoolers in this year's draft.

McDonald's All-American Mario Austin of York-Sumter County, Ala., will now play at Mississippi State. Austin stated on May 12 that he will honor his letter-of-intent, but then told ESPN and the Associated Press on the next day that he was going to enter the NBA draft. However, his name was not on the official list of underclassmen eligible for the draft when it was released May 19.

Mississippi State lost signee Jonathan Bender to the draft last year as a first-round selection of the Indiana Pacers.

Milt Wagner, the newest member of the Memphis basketball staff, has told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that his son, Dajuan Wagner, considered one of the nation's top five junior prep players, will play for the Tigers. Wagner, a former Louisville standout, said Dajuan will complete his prep career at Camden, N.J., where he averaged 31.8 points and led his team to the state title. Dajuan's teammate and best friend at Camden, forward Arthur Barclay, signed with Memphis this spring. Wagner, 37, was hired last Thursday as the coordinator of basketball operations for new coach John Calipari.

Texas guard Lawrence Williams of Ruston, La./Panola JC, Tex., is transferring to Louisiana Tech. Williams, who averaged 4.8 points as a junior for the Longhorns, will redshirt and have one season remaining.

Gonzaga signed small forward Alex Hernandez of Las Vegas-Valley, Nev./Casper CC, Wyoming.

Appalachian State added guard Terry Collins of Fort Wayne-Snider, Ind.

Kansas State released forward Jason Robinson of Seward JC, Kan., from his letter-of-intent. Robinson is now looking at Purdue, Providence, Louisiana Tech and Idaho. Guard E.J. Harris of Los Angeles-Crenshaw, Calif., had earlier been released from his scholarship papers.

Massachusetts added forward/guard Willie Jenkins of Memphis-Fairley, Tenn. UMass now has six recruits.

Houston signed guard Dominic Smith of Paris JC, Tex.

One of the nation's leading junior prospects, Chris Thomas of Indianapolis-Pike, Ind., has announced for Notre Dame over Stanford, Indiana, Michigan State and Duke.  Others were Purdue, Iowa, Missouri, Arizona, Kentucky and UCLA.  Thomas, who is perhaps the top Irish guard recruit in recent years, averaged 24 points last season.

Forwards Mac Wilkinson of Louisville-Ballard, Ky., and Daouda Cisse of Montgomery-St. Jude, Ala., have signed with Louisville. Wilkinson, who averaged 14 points and six rebounds, is a younger brother of Felton Spencer.

Forward Terrence Leather of Tampa-Robinson, Fla., and guard Deon Green of Los Angeles CC, Calif., chose South Florida.

Huge center Marin Bota of Zagreb, Croatia, signed with Auburn. He played prep basketball at Berlin-St. Francis, Germany.

Rice has a junior commitment from guard Brock Gillespie of Minneapolis-Eastview, Minn./Clarksville, Tenn., who averaged 18 points last season.

Forward Alvin Broussard of Albuquerque-Valley, N.M.; and guard Senque Carey of East Palo Alto-St. Francis, Calif./Washington, will play at New Mexico.  Broussard had official visits to Duke, Xavier and Wichita State.  Carey, who was co-freshman of the year in the Pac-10 two years ago, started 29 of 30 games for Washington last season.

Forward Anthony Coleman of Compton-Centennial, Calif., signed with Xavier over Miami (Fla.) and Missouri.

Forward Randy Holcomb of Chicago, Ill./Fresno State/Los Angeles City College, will play at San Diego State over Providence and Kansas State. Sophomore guard Tony Bland of Los Angeles-Westchester, Calif., will transfer from Syracuse and is considering SDSU, USC and Arizona State. Bland, who started all 32 games last season, averaged 6.8 points for the Orangemen.

Forward Greg Jenkins of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., has chosen Iona over George Washington, West Virginia, George Mason and Fairfield.

John Grice, a forward/guard from Shelby State JC, Tenn., has decided to play for Memphis over Mississippi and Kentucky. Grice becomes Memphis's fifth signee and the third player to sign with new coach John Calipari in the spring signing period. Grice averaged 17 points while leading the Saluqis to a third-place national finish.

The Boston College Eagles have edged defending national champion Michigan State and Miami (Ohio) for guard Ryan Sidney of Ann Arbor-Pioneer, Mich.

Twins Jarvis Hayes and Jonas Hayes of Atlanta-Douglass, Ga., will transfer from Western Carolina to Georgia. Jarvis, a guard, averaged 17 points and was named Southern Conference Rookie of the Year last season. Jonas averaged eight points at forward. Bulldogs guard Shawn Fields of Lexington-Catholic, Ky., who averaged 2.2 points in 20 games, is transferring to Eastern Kentucky.

Confirming the loss of the Hayes twins, new Western Carolina coach Steve Shurina also signed forward Rans Brempong of Thornhill, Ontario, and center Peter Okwalinga of Cochise JC, Ariz. Okwalinga originally signed with Notre Dame out of high school. Center Colin Kearns of Rockledge, Fla., has been dismissed from the team.

Eastern Kentucky signed four prospects, including center Tim Volpenhein, a former walk-on from Covington-Holy Cross, Ky; plus guards Shawn Fields of Lexington-Catholic, Ky., who is transferring from Georgia; Clinton Sims of Paris, Ky./Maine Central Institute/Boston College/St. Catharine College, Ky; and Ben Rushing of Clinton-Hickman County, Ky. Sims averaged 8.7 points as a freshman at BC. Fields averaged 2.2 at Georgia in 20 games.

UNC-Charlotte signed 6-10 forward/centers Malik El-Tamer of Cologne-Germany/Centralia JC, Wash./Casper JC, Wyo., and Jermaine Williams of Dallas-South Garland, Tex/San Jacinto JC, Tex. Williams was also recruited by Memphis, Colorado, Providence and Fresno State.

Kansas State has released guard E.J. Harris of Los Angeles-Crenshaw, Calif., from his signed letter. He is now considering Tulane and Boston College.

New Hampshire signed forwards Allen Gould of New Hampton Prep, N.H., and Ben Sturgill of Hamilton, Ohio.

Forward Omar Weaver of Washington, D.C./Compton-Centennial, Calif., who had committed to Missouri, did not qualify and has signed with Hutchinson CC, Kan.

Texas Tech has its seventh signee in forward Rodney Bass of Baltimore, Md./Philadelphia-Lutheran Prep, Pa. Bass was also recruited by UConn, Providence, Miami (Fla.), Villanova and USC.

Kansas sophomore guard Marlon London of Broadview-St. Joseph's, Ill., has transferred to DePaul.

Murray State added guard Johnny Mitchell of Montgomery-Jefferson Lanier, Ala.

Guard Alvin Green of Myrtle Beach-Socastee, S.C., picked Coastal Carolina.

Nevada signed center Dennis Williams of Skyline JC, Calif.

Montana State has Jason Erickson, a guard from Eagle River-Chugiak, Alaska.

Northwestern has its 6th signee in center Harry Good of Roosevelt-Baldwin, N.Y./Maine Central Institute, Maine.

Virginia Commonwealth sophomore forward Reggie Okosa of Wilimington-Brandywine, Del., is transferring to LaSalle.

Fresno State signed forward Nate Daniels of San Diego, Calif./Fitchburg-Notre Dame Prep, Mass., over San Diego State and Providence.

Basketball signings/commitments
(Spring signing period runs from April 12 to May 15)
Men's database search | Women's database search.

The Big East dominated the Class 2000 men's early signing period (Story). UConn headed the women's recruiting battle (Story).

Big East:
Villanova has signed forward Andreas Bloch of Germany/Fresno-Central, Calif.

West Virginia signed guard Drew Schifino of Pittsburg-Penn Hills, Pa., who averaged 28 points as a senior.

Guard Marcus Barnes, who averaged 30.7 points as a senior for Miami-Senior, Fla., signed with Miami (Fla.) over South Florida, Florida, Auburn and USC.

Guard Dahntay Jones of Hamilton, N.J., is considering transferring from Rutgers.

Atlantic 10:
Guard Tyrone Barley of West Orange-Seton Hall Prep, N.J., has committed to St. Joseph's (Pa.).

SEC:
Guard Rick Jones of Scott County, Ky., who averaged 5.7 points as a true freshman for Vanderbilt, will transfer to Eastern Kentucky. Jones was named 1999 Mr. Basketball in Kentucky.

Alabama signed forward Reggie Rambo of Alexandria-Peabody Magnet, La.

Conference USA:
Guard Bryant Northern of Jeffersonville, Ind., will walk on at Louisville.

Mountain West:
Forward Matt Brown of Roseburg, Ore./College of Southern Idaho, signed with Colorado State. Brown played one season at Stephen F. Austin.

WAC:
Hawaii signed guard Ricky Terrell of Santa Monica CC, Calif.; forward Mindaugas Burneika of Kaunas, Lithuania/Weatherford CC, Tex; and center Haim Shimonovic of Rishon LeZiyon, Israel.

West Coast:
Center Jim Howell of Newport, Ore., is set for Santa Clara.

Big West:
Guard Derrick Andrew of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is set for Cal State-Fullerton.

Southland:
Center Brian Rowan of Maplewood-Hill-Murray, Minn., signed with Lamar.

MAC:
Bowling Green signed guard Jabari Maddox of Westchester-St. Joseph's, Ill., over interest from Bradley and Notre Dame.

Ohio Valley:
Guard Andy Keating of Sinclair CC, Ohio, chose Morehead State.

Pac-10:
Guard Michael Lawson of Martinez-Alhambra, Calif., signed with California.

Big Sky:
Forwards Kenny Plummer of Moorpark College, Calif., and Brad Fields of Cerritos JC, Calif., chose Montana State.

Football signings/commitments

Database search. Also check the FANSonly.com's recruiting index, football recruiting page, class rankings and conference lists.

Offensive lineman James Evans of Teaneck, N.J./Nassau CC, N.Y., signed with Maryland. Evans originally chose Indiana in Class 1999. The Terps also have transfer defensive lineman Tony Charles of Washington, D.C.-DeMatha, from Florida, who will redshirt and be eligible for the 2001 season.

Outstanding receiver Earvin Johnson of South Gate-Cathedral, Calif., has committed to Georgia Tech over UCLA, Michigan, Michigan State, Colorado and UNLV. Johnson, who caught 70 passes for 1,620 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, already holds the state record for scoring passes with 53 and has his senior season remaining.

Defensive back/running back Kelvin Hayden of Chicago-Hubbard, Ill., is set for Illinois. Hayden, the third known commitment for the Fighting Illini, rushed for over 2,300 yards as a junior.

Offensive lineman Von Ewing of Troy-Charles Henderson, Ala., committed to Alabama over interest from Auburn, LSU, North Carolina State and Central Florida.

The Michigan Wolverines have a commitment from one of the nation's top juniors in linebacker/running back Scott McClintock of Belle Vernon-Area, Pa., over Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Boston College.

Florida State has its sixth junior commitment in offensive lineman Andrew Henry-Kennon of Tallahassee-Lincoln, Fla., over Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Kentucky. The Seminoles recently gained offensive lineman Matt Heinz of Tallahassee-North Florida Christian, Fla., over Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Notre Dame.

South Carolina has a commitment from offensive lineman Kelvin Lee of Spartanburg, S.C., over Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Florida, Florida State and Georgia Tech; and receiver Ricky Ricks of Lancaster, S.C./Mississippi Gulf CC.

Arkansas has its third football commitment in defensive back Lerinezo Robinson of Mayflower, Ark., over Mississippi and Notre Dame.

Bill Hodge is the executive editor and director of recruiting coverage at FANSonly.com. For daily columns on prospects, commitments and signings, plus databases, go to FANSonly.com's recruiting index.