Prep basketball standout Stephen Clark signs with Oklahoma State

On that evening, in the closing hours of college basketball's early national letter of intent signing period, Clark and his mother were scrambling to fax in the signed paperwork that would finalize his decision to go to Oklahoma State.

They got the job done, and kept his Cowboy future a secret for more than a week, making the official announcement on Friday in the Douglass auditorium.

Afterward, he signed photos of himself in a No. 5 OSU jersey for fans and family, celebrating the end of a long and winding recruitment process.

“I've been waiting on this day for the longest,” Clark said. “Me and my mom have been stressing through the whole process. We slowed everything down and narrowed it down to figure out where I'm going to school.

“This will make it a lot easier to focus on making myself a better basketball player and buckling down in the classroom to make sure I finish the year with all A's.”

Clark had been close to announcing his decision on previous occasions, but backed off to make official visits to UCLA and Baylor.

Yet the 5-foot-11, 175-pound scoring point guard settled on staying close to home, where he seems to be an ideal fit for OSU coach Travis Ford's fast-paced system.

Point guard has been hit-and-miss for Ford. Keiton Page was reliable, but others like Cezar Guerrero, Ray Penn, Fred Gulley and Reger Dowell haven't lasted.