During a signing ceremony at Newton, senior Daniel Stephen signed to play basketball at Gadsden State Community College.

Stephen made the move official alongside family in the Rams’ auditorium.

After he wrapped up his lone season at Newton that saw the team make it all the way to the Class AAAAAA title game, Stephen shared how special the moment was for him.

“It was a lot of emotions from hard work and dedication I had towards the game and for me to get an opportunity to play again was a blessing from god especially from what I have experienced my last two years in my high school career,” Stephen said.

For Stephen, the interactions with Gadsden head coach Deddric Tarver led him to sign the dotted line.

“It was the culture that they had and Coach Tarver,” Stephen said. “He is about winning and it shows in their record and he has the same mentality that I have to do whatever it takes to win no matter what.”

Although the decision is made for the senior, Stephen shared his thought process when looking at college options.

“Well first and foremost, I prioritized a winner, a team that doesn't have a lot of drama and a team that is structured to win,” Stephen said. “[It] had to be a team that I could fit in and fit around and it had to be a team that could help me get to my dream which is to play in the NBA.”

Before his senior season at Newton, Stephen played for Social Circle. As a junior, Stephen was named as the 2023-24 All-Cov News Boys Basketball Big of the Year.

With his one year at Newton finished, Stephen shared how the program has helped him prepare for the college level in many ways, even if they are not the biggest focal points.

“It helped me with knowing that you can have a huge impact in the game without scoring a bunch of points or having a ball in your hand,” Stephen said. “Because there were a lot of games we had this season that came down to are we gonna get the last rebound or are we gonna get that steal or that block or are we going to dive on the floor for the loose ball so we can get the possession. Us as a team this year had a lot of talent, but it was separated. Most of us had to hustle and [it is about] who is gonna do the little things to help us win the big games.”

Stephen also noted the work that the team does outside of game days.

“Just the practices that we had as a team from the summer league all the way to the state championship game,” Stephen said. “We competed against each other each day no matter if it was a 5v5 scrimmage or timed suicides to go home when were all exhausted. We always competed because we had a goal to get better and win the state championship.”

When asked to look back and name a favorite moment as a Ram, Stephen noted the intense matchups against Newton’s rival, Grayson.

“Definitely the times we played Grayson, especially the first game because that was basically my first game back from injury and I really showed something across high school,” Stephen said. “[I showed] that it's the fight in a dog, not the dog of the fight. and then of course, all the other games we played against Grayson.”