This is another in a series on "The life of a blue-chip recruit."

On March 27, DeShawn Stevenson took his first step toward becoming a national star. That's the day the 6-foot-5 guard from Washington Union High (Calif.) won the McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest, which just happened to be televised nationally on ESPN.

Sure, as one of the top 24 scholastic boys' basketball players in the country, Stevenson was a regional star long before his spectacular array of dunks landed his face on ESPN. But he wasn't a national star - yet.

"What do you think about that? Stevenson was asked the day after the dunk contest. "Your dunks, your name is going to be on ESPN for the entire country to see."

"I know," said Stevenson. "It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

	Roman Catholic High's (Pa.) Eddie Griffin thinks his in-school fight got a little too much attention.

Actually, it's not so hard to believe anymore. Gone are the days when high school sports stars were heroes in their hometowns but hardly noticed on the national scene. These days, some of the top prep players receive more national attention and are as well known as most college athletes, and even some pros.

"It's pretty cool," says Coppell High (Texas) first baseman Jason Stokes, who is listed as the No. 5 prospect in the nation by Baseball America and is a likely first-round pick in June's Major League Baseball draft. "I'll travel across the country and to Canada and people know who I am. It's exciting."

As the 21st century begins, everybody seems to be getting into the game of covering high school sports. It used to be that local newspapers were the only media outlets interested in the scholastic scene. And while that might still be the case for the average prep athlete, superstars are now receiving attention from heavyweights like ESPN, USA TODAY and Sports Illustrated, in addition to a host of high school sports publications and Web sites.

"It's a 'Wow' feeling," says South Grand Prairie High (Texas) girls' basketball star Ashley Robinson of seeing her name in national publications. "Everyone in the nation is reading your name.

	"I have to worry about going on national TV - and how they might twist my words," says Takoma Academy (Md.) senior Tamir Goodman.

"It adds more pressure, because you want to step up to the plate and live up to the expectations people have of you," adds Robinson, a first team PARADE All-American who is heading to the University of Tennessee in the fall. "Every time you step on the court, [your opponent] wants to beat you because they read about you somewhere."

That minor drawback is child's play compared to what Roman Catholic High (Pa.) boys' basketball star Eddie Griffin went through this season. Compared to Tim Duncan by USA TODAY before the winter season began, Griffin was under intense media scrutiny throughout the year.

The media overexposure finally came to a head on March 15, when Griffin was expelled from school for fighting with teammate Marques Grant. Because he was considered to be one of the best prep players in the nation, the story was picked up nationally, and the Seton Hall recruit's image was immediately tarnished.

"It wasn't really a fight," said Griffin during the McDonald's All-American festivities. He is finishing the remainder of his senior year at home. "It was something that was played up (in the media) because it was me and another guy on the basketball team."

Naturally, the outlet that gave the story the most attention was the Philadelphia Inquirer, Griffin's hometown newspaper. Mike Leary, the Inquirer's editor for amateur sports, says there was never really a question of whether or not to run the story because of the teen's stature as a sports icon.

"He was, by that time, a public figure," says Leary. "He was already considered one of the top players in the country. If anyone was surprised, Eddie was. I think he didn't realize his actions would be so scrutinized.

"If you are a regular, anonymous student and you get into a fight, you won't get covered," adds Leary. "But if you're a basketball player or a football player we've been covering, then that story is going to find its way into the papers."

Griffin isn't alone in feeling the heat of the spotlight. Takoma Academy (Md.) point guard Tamir Goodman can relate to Griffin's plight. Though one of the top high school basketball players in the nation, Goodman is as renowned for being an Orthodox Jew as he is for his velvety smooth game. Last year, Goodman was featured in a Sports Illustrated story that dubbed him "The Jewish Jordan."

"When I go to school, what the kids are worrying about is stuff I wish I had to worry about," says the Towson University-bound Goodman. "I hear kids worrying about boyfriends and girlfriends and stuff they have to do the next day. I have to worry about going on national TV the next day and being careful about how they might twist my words."