TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona men's basketball head coach announced that Carter Bryant (Riverside, Calif.), Jamari Phillips (Antioch, Calif.) and Emmanuel Stephen (Lagos, Nigeria) have all signed their National Letters of Intent and will join the program for the 2024-25 season. The trio is considered a top 5 signing class in the country by multiple outlets and projects to be the highest rated Arizona signing class since 2017.
Get to know more about each of the three signees below:
Follow Carter Bryant on Instagram
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Bryant is a 6-foot-8 forward at Corona Centennial High School this season after playing at Sage Hill last year. While at Sage Hill, he averaged 22.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.9 blocks and 1.6 steals per game and earned Pacific Coast League MVP and All-CIF honors. His team won the Pacific Coast League championship as well and he picked up player of the year accolades from the Daily Pilot.
He also received the 2023 Wooden Award as the boys basketball player of the year for California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division IV. In three tournament games against larger schools last year as a junior, Bryant averaged 33.3 points and 18.7 rebounds.
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On the AAU circuit, Bryant played for Paul George Elite alongside Phillips and Stephen.
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The son of Sabrina Torres and D'Cean Bryant, Carter comes from an athletic family background. His father played college basketball for four years at Long Beach State. There's also a connection to the University of Arizona for Bryant, as his aunt, Shaquillah Torres, played volleyball for the Wildcats from 2011-13.
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Follow Jamari Phillips on Instagram
Phillips, a 6-foot-3 guard, is a four-star recruit and a top 25 recruit nationally. He is currently enrolled at Dream City Christian in Glendale and played on the same AAU team – Paul George Elite - as fellow Arizona signee Carter Bryant.
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This past summer while playing in Phoenix with PG Elite in the EYBL, he averaged 28.7 points and shot 62% from the 3-point line over three games.
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Prior to joining Dream City for his senior year, Phillips played at AZ Compass Prep and Modesto Christian High School. He scored over 1,000 points at Modesto Christian, averaging 23 points per game as a sophomore and being named Sacramento Bee's Player of the Year after leading Modesto Christian to the finals of the CIF State Open Division.
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While playing the final part of his junior season at AZ Compass Prep, Phillips helped the Dragons to their first ever appearance in the championship game of the GEICO Nationals tournament, which featured nearly all of the top high school teams in the country.
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Follow Emmanuel Stephen on Instagram
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Emmanuel Stephen is a 7-foot center and a four-star recruit that is ranked in the Top 100 nationally.
Stephen (pronounced "Stefen") was one of the top defensive players and shot blockers on the EYBL circuit this past summer while playing for Paul George Elite, the same program as fellow Class of 2023 Arizona signees Carter Bryant and Jamari Phillips. He blocked just under three shots per game while grabbing nearly night rebounds per game.
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At Peach Jam in the Summer of 2023, Stephen averaged 3.8 blocks per game on his way to earning Defensive MVP honors at the tournament. He also added 7.0 points per game and 9.8 rebounds at Peach Jam.
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As a senior this season at Dream City, Stephen will play alongside Phillips. A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Stephen is relatively new to basketball after picking up the sport in 2019. He also spent some time at NBA Academy Africa before coming to the United States.
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