ST. CHARLES – Unlike his son, Kendall, Everette Stephens was able to wade deep into his high school basketball career before being bombarded by recruiting pitches.

“When I was a sophomore, my mom was telling me how to make the bed and take out the garbage,” Everette Stephens said. “Here [Kendall] is making a big decision in his life on where he has an opportunity to get his education and play basketball. That’s a very tough decision for a young person.”

Fresh off a weekend visit to Purdue, where Kendall Stephens was offered a scholarship by the Boilermakers, the program at which Everette starred en route to the NBA, the Stephens family reflected on how the recruiting experience of Kendall, a St. Charles East sophomore, has differed substantially from that of his father.

Everette Stephens’ recruitment came in the early-1980s, when the recruitment of top prospects typically did not heat up until players’ junior years. The timetable is dramatically expedited these days, as evidenced by the five scholarship offers Kendall has already commanded part-way through his sophomore season.

“When he was in high school they didn’t get after him until like junior year, so he didn’t commit until junior year,” Kendall Stephens said. “Nowadays it’s sped up. It’s tough to get a scholarship when you’re a senior. It has definitely changed.”

A former star at Evanston High, Everette couldn’t recall exactly when he made his college decision, first saying it was during his junior year, then indicating it might have been as a senior. Regardless, Everette Stephens, in his first year as an assistant coach for the Saints, said having additional time to mature helped prevent him from becoming overwhelmed by his recruitment.

“I had a lot of schools recruiting me but I cut them off pretty fast,” said Everette, who chose Purdue over Kentucky, Iowa and Evansville. “I had so many different schools recruiting me, and then I had them narrowed down to ones that were persistent as far as staying in touch with me and coming out to watch me play.”

One of those coaches was Bruce Weber, current Illini head coach and an assistant at Purdue when Stephens played for the Boilermakers from 1984-88. Now, Weber is recruiting a second generation of Stephens boys.

Along with Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin and DePaul have offered scholarships to Kendall, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard.

Naturally, people wonder if Kendall will be drawn to his father’s Purdue legacy, but Everette’s ties to Weber – and even Northwestern, considering his Evanston roots – add additional intrigue to Kendall’s recruitment.

“A lot of people are wondering if Purdue will be the team, but they’re just like every other team with how I look at it,” Kendall said. “I’m going to look at what’s best for me. [Everette] hasn’t pushed me to any school. Obviously he gets excited when I get an offer, he’ll give me input on what he thinks, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be my decision.”

Kendall refuted the notion, though, that he would shy from Purdue so as not to be in his father’s shadow.

“If anything, I’d love it,” said Kendall, who vowed to give all schools that recruit him “a fair shot.”

It might be the other side of Kendall’s family that makes the hardest Purdue sell. Kendall’s mother, Kay, grew up near Purdue, and she has several sisters who live in the Lafayette, Ind., area. The entire clan “bleeds black and gold,” according to East coach Brian Clodi.

“Facebook, they’re always wanting me to go Purdue,” Kendall said. “Same with my uncles, just because they’re there. They tailgate at all the [Purdue] games. It’s always fun going down there. They’re great.”

While Everette would ideally prefer 15-year-old Kendall to slow the recruiting rush, he knows that is not entirely practical. The programs recruiting Kendall are also recruiting other prospects, and there is no guarantee he will still have his pick if he puts coaches off for a year or longer.

Even though all the recruiting hubbub has come rapidly for Kendall, there has still been time for mom and dad to bask in the moment.

“Just like any father or any mother, you always want your kid to do well,” Everette said. “Of course in the back of my mind I do have a concern about the fact that once you make a decision, now I hope he can go ahead and develop and be a contributor to that particular college, but that’s one of those things where it’s going to be on his shoulders as person.”

Everette called Kendall’s suspense-filled sophomore year “a good problem to have.”

“When you have these top colleges offering scholarships, even if you pick something that’s [not ideal], you’re still landing pretty comfortably,” Everette said.