Another member of the Detroit Pistons squad from the Summer League has opted to return to college for another season
At the start of the offseason, the Detroit Pistons were one of the more active teams in the 2026 NBA Draft. Of course, the Pistons entered the event with the 21s overall selection (which was flipped for No. 17) and traded Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies at the start of day two, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for Pistons moves.
Later in round two, the Pistons made a trade to end up with former Virginia shot blocking phenom Ugonna Onyenso after picking up point guard Ebuka Okorie on day one, but that only represents a portion of Detroit’s draft day work.
Right after free agency opened up, the Pistons acted swiftly in signing a slew of prospects to Exhibit 10 deals, such as Roddy Gayle Jr., Corey Stephenson and Jaden Henley, three players who all contributed mightily for Detroit during the Summer League in July. But given the still turbulent litigation process regarding college eligibility, it looks like Gayle is set to return to Ann Arbor sooner rather than later, and Stephenson is following a similar path by returning to the college ranks since he was originally in the 2022 recruiting class.
During his short time with the Pistons during the Summer League, Stephenson featured in four games for Detroit, coming off the bench in each of those exhibition contests. Stephenson logged 12 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes of action off the bench as the Pistons stumbled to a 1-4 record out in Las Vegas, so the former FIU guard did not have the smoothest transition to playing at the NBA level.
So, perhaps that partly explains why Stephenson is balking on his professional opportunity at the moment to return to college, this time at Ole Miss.
At 6-6, Stephenson is a bigger guard who was an important part of FIU’s squad last year to the tune of 18 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Stephenson had a lot of responsibility on his plate by logging over 30 minutes per game, but that gave the off-ball guard a lot of chances to connect from beyond the arc, which he did at a 39.8% level last season.
Even though Stephenson did not dominate during his brief four-game stint during the Summer League, there is a good chance that he has a strong senior season at Ole Miss if the courts continue to rule in his favor. In general, Stephenson’s return to the college ranks further amplifies a blurry line that’s floating between amateur and professional sports. Stephenson already signed a pro deal during the summer, so the entire situation is a step into foreign territory for the sport, but it has already had a demonstrable impact on the Pistons’ ability to fill their G-League roster since three players from their Summer League squad have already opted to return to college for another year.
Going back even further, the Pistons organization had a slightly similar situation when Charles Bedaiko transitioned back to college at Alabama after already playing in the G-League for the Motor City Cruise (as his third G-League team overall), so more situations like this are expected in the future as the sport sorts itself out.
