What Mizzou basketball is getting in 2023 commit Danny Stephens

The Missouri men's basketball Class of 2023 got a little deeper Saturday night.

Danny Stephens, a 6-foot-7 forward from Augusta, Illinois, committed to Missouri, MidPro Academy announced.

Stephens will join the program as a preferred walk-on.

Stephens was extremely productive as a junior at Southeastern High School. He averaged 28.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game for the Suns while earning a 1A first-team all-state selection. This helped garner him several Division I offers.

He chose Missouri over Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, South Dakota and Southeast Missouri State.

Stephens has been rising quickly as a prospect, even though he doesn't have a star rating on 247Sports. According to the Quincy Herald-Whig, Bradley, South Dakota State and Illinois State have shown Stephens interest without giving him an offer.

“It’s always been a goal and a dream of mine to play college basketball,” Stephens told the Quincy Herald-Whig this past summer. “In the last two years, it started to become more of a possibility that I could play at the Division I level."

That dream is coming to fruition at Missouri, as Stephens is described by those who know him best as a versatile winner.

“Danny is a winner first and foremost,” MidPro Academy Director Gavin Sullivan told the Tribune. ”He is a skilled physical player that has the ability to play multiple positions.”

Stephens will join what's already a heralded recruiting class for Missouri.

MU head coach Dennis Gates and his staff have compiled the 15th-best recruiting class in the nation so far. That high rating is thanks to Trent Pierce, Anthony Robinson and Jordan Butler, all of which carry four-star ratings by 247Sports.

Stephens' immediate fit comes with how the class was already structured.

With Butler at center, Robinson at guard and Pierce at forward, Stephens could earn playing time at either guard or forward depending on how the rotation develops in the second year of Gates' tenure. That second year will also include an experienced Aidan Shaw, as well as players like Sean East, Kobe Brown, Ronnie DeGray and Nick Honor who could take advantage of the COVID-granted extra year of eligibility.

This means Stephens might need to find a way to fit into the puzzle as it's currently constructed.

Last season, Stephens averaged 28 points per game while shooting 63% from the field and making 94% of his free throws. That kind of efficiency is welcome for a Missouri team that needed some key strengths off the bench, even if Stephens hasn't played in the higher levels of high school basketball across Illinois.

Stephens' lack of a star rating should not concern fans. When Robinson committed to Missouri, 247Sports ranked him with three stars. By the end of the summer, Robinson was elevated to a four-star prospect.

“He is a quiet kid, but plays with an endless motor and finds so many different ways to impact the game,” Sullivan said. ”Mizzou will love what he brings to the team.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: What Mizzou basketball is getting in 2023 commit Danny Stephens