FAYETTEVILLE — Playing in the Real Deal on the Hill tournament is giving one of the premier 2009 prospects in the nation, combination guard Lance Stephenson, a chance to check out Arkansas’ campus.

Stephenson, 6-6, 205, and his father were expected to take an unofficial visit to Arkansas on Thursday but arrived late that night and did a quick tour around campus Friday morning.

“We walked around the school and looked around,” Lance Stephenson Sr. said. “We’re having a good time here. It’s a tough tournament.”

Stephenson Jr., who plays for Abraham Lincoln High School in New York, is considered by some as one of the best to ever play in New York City. He scored 20 points in a 73-58 loss to Team Breakdown on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.

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The arena and Razorbacks fans have made a favorable impression on Stephenson’s father.

“I love the gym. This is a nice, big gym,” he said. “The town is being real nice to us. Everybody knows that Lance is here, a lot of hospitality. When we were walking around campus, some of the kids were saying, ‘Lance, Arkansas’ and stuff like that. When we went to the IHOP, the waiter knew him.

“ The fans of Arkansas have been real nice.”

Stephenson said Arkansas is one of the better schools he and his son have visited and that they planned to take a closer look at Arkansas’ campus when time permits during the weekend. “It ranks right up there,” Stephenson Sr. said. “The town seems like a nice basketball town.”

GETTING AN EARLY START Brandon Moore, who signed early with Arkansas, is in Fayetteville for the weekend and rooting on his former AAU team, the Texas Blue Chips. “I came up here with one of my AAU teams from last year and checking out the campus and hanging out with Patrick Beverley and the rest of the guys,” said Moore, a 6-9, 215-pound forward out of New Orleans Holy Cross.

Moore said he’s heard about Arkansas’ off-season workouts and has a personal trainer helping him get ready for next year.

“I’m getting prepared because I heard they’re running a lot lately, like 20 stadium [bleachers ],” Moore said. “I’ve got to work harder and get in better shape. I’ll keep working out with my trainer every day.”

Moore said he’s also trying to help recruit Mobile, Ala., shooting guard Nick Williams, 6-5, who arrived in Fayetteville on Friday for an official visit.

“Me and Nick Williams have been hanging out,” Moore said. “He and I got to know one another through camps. He’s liking it. It’s between here and Indiana.

“ I’ve seen Nick play, and he’s a great player. He’s got a good personality, and he’s easy to get along with. That’s what I like about him. I’ve been talking to him and telling him it’s a good situation. I think he understands that.”

Williams, who is rated by ESPN as the No. 40 player in the nation, signed with Marquette during the early signing period but was granted a release from his scholarship after Tom Crean left to become coach at Indiana.

Williams is expected to make his decision sometime in the middle of the week.

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