NEW YORK — At long last, the Lance Stephenson sweepstakes is over, and the talented Lincoln High School player is headed to Cincinnati of the Big East.
The story was first reported by SNY.tv on Tuesday morning and confirmed later Tuesday by a press release from the Cincinnati athletic department.
“We are very excited about Lance’s decision to become a Bearcat,” head coach Mick Cronin said. “Lance has terrific talent as a basketball player and is also a fierce competitor on the court. His desire to win will help us compete for a Big East Championship.
DiamondbackRuss / June 30, 2009
Now if Xavier Henry bounces to UK will Lance back out of his commitment to UC and head to KU which is where he appeared to really want to go in the first place?
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Big Ben / June 30, 2009
I don’t think Self would let him. If he hadn’t committed yet it would be possible but Self has been put in this position a few times before and has never allowed it.
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memtiger87 / June 30, 2009
Self sure didn’t think twice about signing the Henry’s when they decomitted from Memphis. What makes you think this is any different?
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Big Ben / June 30, 2009
Getting released because your coach left is quite accepted in the coaches unofficial rules of conduct and infinitely different than recruiting a committed player. Remember this is the guy that told Dee Brown and Deron Williams that they couldn’t follow him to Kansas. Now THAT had to be a hard thing to tell guys that signed to play for you and not the SIU coach.
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bxpapi95 / June 30, 2009
I don’t think anyone could have predicted this but at the same time nobody could have ruled it out. This was possibly the most topsy-turvey recruiting process ever and I think the Stephensons are glad its over.
I don’t think the kid is going to bounce to Europe or decommit. I’m glad that Stephenson, a manchild who’s got a flair for the game, is playing in the talent-dripping Big East.
Stephenson is likely a 1-and-done, but are the Bearcats be a contender in this ultra-competitive landscape next season?
http://zsmart.blogspot.com/2009/06/stephenson-heading-to-bearcat-country.html
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memtiger87 / June 30, 2009
If Lance Stephenson’s camp (sad that a 18 year old has a camp) called Self and said that he would rather go to Kansas, do you think he would tell them to get lost? I don’t think I believe that..
Calipari sure ain’t following those unofficial rules. He’ll take Henry in a New York minute. Hell, he was contacting Memphis recruits while he was “pondering his decision” to go to Kentucky. The ones he recruited to go to Memphis and were paid for by Memphis.
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Big Ben / June 30, 2009
Just saying the precedence would be that Self wouldn’t take him. Self has taken a lot of guys after they’ve been released from commitments of course, but has also remained true to that unwritten coaching rule book, even to the detriment to his own career.
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DiamondbackRuss / June 30, 2009
16 year olds with AA talent have camps.
If the Henry’s leave KU and head to UK that should hopefully be enough for the NBA to end this stupid age limit thing they created that has led to the one-and-done player. These are not “student-athletes”, they care nothing about the academic institution, have no desire to get a degree they’re just following a coach.
They take a couple of cake summer classes and a couple of cake fall semester classes. Get a 2.0 and never go to class after the fall semester of their freshman (only) year ends. David Stern is the devil and must be stopped.
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Big Ben / June 30, 2009
That’s for sure. Especially when one of the reasons Carl gave is that “Xavier doesn’t want to go to class”. What? Don’t they have classes in Kentucky?
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RockChalkWoody / June 30, 2009
Do you really think that Calipari will care if X goes to class? He knows that the kid is one-and-done.
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USC.trojan / July 1, 2009
AZ,
So, BS has reached out to the Lances in the recent past?
Hopefully, your story will shed some light on these facts….
Very interesting that …”Neither Stephenson nor his father, Lance Stephenson Sr., were immediately available for comment. ”
Is Lance Sr not on board?
Or has Lance Sr. said NO to BS….
(Score: BS:1 , Lance Sr: 1….)
If Cali and X have been talking these past weeks….
Then, BS has also been talking to Lance Sr.
Look forward to YOUR new articles…
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pastaboy / July 1, 2009
I called Xavier going to Ky….and I called Self talking him out of it …..face it … I’m a genius on these matters ….now where are all the idiots who were saying yesterday that Ku didn’t Xavier …that Xavier was too slow …that Ku was better without him …….you guys are hypocrites to the max
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Big Ben / July 1, 2009
It is very unlikely that Self has been calling Stephenson as Cronin says he talked to Self about Stephenson to get the OK to sign him.
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wcburrs / July 1, 2009
He’s a very muscular young boy.
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