Syracuse basketball contacts transfer center Emmanuel Stephen, praised for his defense

Transfer center Emmanuel Stephen, who didn't play much at all in his freshman season at Arizona but is known for his defensive instincts, has heard from Syracuse basketball, per a media report from a top expert.

According to 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham, the 7-foot, 230-pound Stephen, who is originally from Nigeria, has been contacted by numerous schools since hitting the transfer portal in recent days, such as the Orange, UNLV, Villanova, USC, Florida Atlantic and Virginia Tech, among others.

Per 247Sports, Stephen entered the portal on March 31. The current transfer portal window runs through April 22, and the 'Cuse coaching staff has a ton of scholarships available to dole out as the program constructs its roster for the 2025-26 season.

The Orange does have a pledge from UCLA junior power forward/center William Kyle lll, however, as I noted in another recent column, the 'Cuse absolutely could use another center for 2025-26.

Syracuse basketball has contacted a variety of college transfers so far this off-season.

Arizona, out of the Big 12 Conference, went 24-13 overall this past stanza and reached the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Stephen, per ESPN statistics, as a freshman averaged 2.9 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest while making 100.0 percent from the field (in extremely limited attempts) and only appearing in eight games.

As a member of the 2024 prep recruiting cycle, Stephen was rated four stars, in the top 100 nationally and in the top 15 at center, per multiple recruiting services. He spent his senior year suiting up for an excellent program, the Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Ariz.

In an evaluation from July of 2023, 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein wrote in part, "Stephen is one of the best defensive big men in the country. He's a gifted athlete with great size and a cut-up frame that should continue to expand in a college weight room. He runs the floor very well, gets off his feet easily as a leaper, can cover the court, and move laterally. ... His mobility allows him to not only protect the rim from a wide-radius and cover a lot of ground when rotating from the weak-side, but should also allow him to defend pick-and-rolls in different ways. Offensively, he needs to continue to develop both his hands and his fundamental skills, but he is capable of putting pressure on the rim as both a lob-threat and rim-runner in transition."

Based on media reports and comments on social media from recruiting analysts, college transfers who have heard from the Orange staff this off-season include UNLV sophomore point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., Dayton redshirt junior point guard Malachi Smith, Georgia sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr., Arkansas State junior guard Derrian Ford, Clemson freshman guard Del Jones, Robert Morris junior guard/forward Amarion Dickerson, North Dakota junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota State senior guard Jacari White and Drexel junior guard Kobe Magee.