Recruitment of Stephen Clark: Stressful process could be nearing end

“I like how (coach Scott Drew) has let his small point guards play,” Clark said. “A lot of his guards are in the top 15 in scoring in the school's history. He has a way of letting his point guards go play their game.”

Yet Okahoma State presents a similar case. Ford has seen a lot of small guards come through recently, like Keiton Page, Ray Penn, Cezar Guerrero and Phil Forte

“They let their short point guards go, like Keiton Page did, so hopefully I could do something like that, if not better,” Clark said. “And it's close to home, so my family will still be around me.”

The pressures of the process have been painful at times, leading Dorshell to stop talking to her son about it for a period of time, just to reduce stress in the household.

“It has been overwhelmingly stressful. Stress to the max,” she said. “It's wearing on me. We're a strong family, but it's wearing on us, too.

“We would go to one school to visit for a weekend, then we'd come home and we'd have another school wanting to come to our home on Monday. Arkansas and Kansas have come in showing interest lately, and Missouri wanted to set up a visit, but we've had to cut all the conversation back.”

Dorshell Clark left no mystery to her preference for her son.

“I think OSU would be best for him, and I like the idea of him being close,” she said. “They have my vote. They know it. He knows it. But I'm leaving it up to him. I want him to be comfortable enough to make his decision.

“And I hope it's soon. I want life to go back to normal.”