By Tyler Mayforth
Rumors had been circling for more than a year about A.J. Stewart leaving the University of Kentucky.
Those close to Stewart knew he was tired of the changes within the Wildcat basketball program and sought more stability. When UK released Stewart from his scholarship, teams in need of an athletic 6-foot-8 forward were hot on his trail — including Texas State.
If the Bobcats were to land Stewart, they’d need a scholarship to offer him. Luckily for Texas State, its Academic Progress Rates (APR) improved enough to have a scholarship returned by the NCAA.
“We didn’t know we’d have a scholarship to use, so were ready to run with the players we had,” Bobcat head men’s basketball coach Doug Davalos said. “Once we found out about the extra scholarship, we felt like the way to go was to go get someone who could impact the program in the future. The guys who could impact your program immediately, there was going to be academic issues or ’good enough’ issues — too much uncertainty.”
So Texas State hit the transfer recruiting trail and Davalos turned to new assistant coach Rob Flaska for guidance.
Flaska, who helped build top-notch recruiting classes at Arkansas, had a few tricks up his sleeve. The new assistant coach also had an Ace in the hole — he recruited Stewart out of high school.
Stewart held the trump card though, as he had many potential suitors.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Jacksonville, Fla was ranked the fifth-best prospect in Florida by Rivals.com as a high school senior. Stewart wanted to stay closer to home following his transfer and Central Florida was high on his list. He nearly signed with the Golden Knights.
“He was kind of shopping and wanted to go to Central Florida, but that didn’t go well,” Flaska said. “They burned some bridges, so it opened back up.”
Flaska continued to push, using all of his sources and pulling every string.
Stewart agreed to come to Texas State for a visit, but backed away at the last second. He continued to test the waters and received interest from Kent State, Middle Tennessee State and Murray State.
If the Bobcats wanted Stewart, they had to make their move. Yet, Texas State also had another option in case Stewart fell through.
“We tried to get Chase Adams from Centenary, because he went Division III,” Flaska said. “I recruited him to Centenary and Chase told me he got something closer to home. His mom wouldn’t tell me, but Chase said ‘Coach, I’m going to Pittsburgh.’ How can you fight that? He got a scholarship from a team in the Big East.”
The Bobcats may not be able to contend with the Big East, but they could certainly make a push against the other mid-majors.
Flaska knew Stewart’s decision hadn’t been made yet, but wanted to ease off a little. Texas State played the waiting game, almost to the point where Davalos felt it was a lost cause.
“I told Doug (getting A.J.) was still alive,” Flaska said, “but Doug thought it was dead in July.”
The new assistant coach held his ground and eventually saw his opportunity to strike. Stewart’s decision revolved around two factors — wanting to know someone at the potential school and the ability to make an impact on the program.
Flaska placed a few calls and put Davalos and Stewart in contact.
“He and A.J. talked on the phone and had a great conversation,” Flaska said. “Soon enough he came out for a visit and liked everything a lot more once he got out here.”
Stewart called the next day to accept Texas State’s offer.
He’ll need to sit out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer requirements, but will be able to practice. Stewart most likely will fill the same role John Rybak did when he transferred from the University of Akron.
“You look at Rybak and through work ethic and habits, he positively affected our program,” Davalos said. “A.J.’s got the opportunity to do that. He’ll impact our program every day. We’ll have a guy that will help our post players, our guards and he’ll give us a shot blocker to go against every day.”
Once Stewart is cleared to play in games, he could become one of the best players in the Southland Conference overnight. He has the pedigree (fifth-best prospect), size (6-foot-8, 218 pounds) and talent (an SEC-caliber player).
Yet, Stewart’s signing means a whole lot more to Davalos than getting a big body in the post.
“We need to stop worrying about eligibility and retention and focus on graduating and winning,” Davalos said. “When you go out and get a player like A.J., that’s what you’re doing. These are guys you bring into your program to help you win a championship.”
