Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin probably owes John Calipari a nice steak dinner or at least a round of drinks.
If Calipari hadn’t left Memphis for Kentucky, Lance Stephenson would probably have landed at Kansas instead of Cincinnati.
But after Calipari took the Kentucky job, Xavier Henry, a 6-foot-6-inch wing out of Oklahoma who had initially signed with Memphis, opened up his recruitment and ultimately landed with the Jayhawks.
Kansas put Stephenson on hold, throwing his recruiting process into total disarray.
“The plan all along was for Lance to go to Kansas,” Cronin said. “They obviously did a great job recruiting him. There’s just no way I’d have thought we were going to get him at that point.
Read the full story at SNY.tv.
**Read the LANCE STEPHENSON TIMELINE HERE.
**See the VIDEO INTERVIEWS WITH LANCE HERE and HERE.
pastaboy / July 1, 2009
This is a disaster waiting to happen …this guy can’t coach a lick …and after Lance gets beaten up after 5 games in the Big East …he’s gonna sulk and wanna go to Europe ….. total disaster …..a guy like Lance needed a big name coach not afraid to dress him down
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Terrapins92 / July 1, 2009
I am not a UC partisan at all. But I was looking into this guy to see what attracted Lance. Yes, he is young (38 on July 17), which Lance probably likes a lot. And you would not get an argument from me that Lance may not want much coaching. I really don’t know.
But Cronin was 28-6 in his first year as a Div. I coach, went to the NCAA tournament two out of three years at Murray State, was a serious recruiter for Huggins and Pitino, and was 57-3 in his first gig as JV coach at Woodward HS in Cincinnati. It is an open question as to how effectively he will be able to coach Lance. But it’s foolish to assert that he can’t coach a lick.
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pastaboy / July 2, 2009
42 and 52 at Cincinnati …2 losing seasons out of 3 …best season 18 and 14 …….small time coach …can’t make the step up …… he can’t coach a lick ….Nurse …show in the next retard please
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Terrapins92 / July 2, 2009
Are you brain dead? What talent did he have? Obviously they win at least 20 games bare minimum next year. “Can’t coach a lick.”
Nurse, get pastaboy some vitamins, he’s clearly a bit deficient.
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tsmooth / July 2, 2009
lance will stay at cincinnati. he would be foolish to back out and go to europe. he needed an under the radar head coach so he is not in constant spotlight. if he would have signed with a calipari or self, even roberts at st. john’s he would have been surrounded by cameras. he needs to be low key, and cincy is the place to be. not to mention he is in close proximity to lebron james, the most marketable and future of the nba. im happy for lance and wish him the best of luck. it didn’t really matter where he went anyway because it was just going to be for one year.
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tsmooth / July 2, 2009
he coaches in the big east. maybe that has something to do with his losing record lol
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tsmooth / July 2, 2009
and mentally retarded
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tsmooth / July 2, 2009
worse than forrest gump…i wonder what his momma says
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soup / July 2, 2009
Interesting blog post from Albany newspaper about Lance’s commitment coming shortly after U of Cincy president stepped down to take a job in NY
http://blog.timesunion.com/collegesports/did-cincinnati-take-advantage-of-suny-hiring/4204/
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USC.trojan / July 2, 2009
AZ,
Looks like the FACTs are coming out.
Would Stephenson have been admitted if Zimpher were still at Cincinnati? It seems unlikely, to say the least.
Had nothing to do with UC basketball.
It was just a way in, for a couple of months and then to the NBA.
Who is UC?
Do they still have a basketball?
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Terrapins92 / July 2, 2009
“Who is UC?”
As if they need defending by a neutral fan. But that is a fairly hilarious question from a USC fan. Just checked and Cincinnati only has 24 tournament appearances, 6 FFs and 2 NCs. (USC: 15, 2, 0)
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PKelly / July 2, 2009
Sure……got a mirror?
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USC.trojan / July 2, 2009
AZ,
No one really care about Cin.
So, can you share you opinion on Barton- Second Choice Lamb???
AZ,
Just talked to some boyz in the south…
Is it TRUE that BARTON was the No.1 recruit priority for Kentucky.
But, were out worked and beat by Josh.
The Boyz were laughing because it was CLEAR that Cali does not understand the two for one deal. The same one used with the X brothers.
Josh worked the Cali staff…..big time.
The WEST coast folks would agree.
So, Cali rushes for LAMB.
And again. rumors of his commit were WRONG.
And right after the visit…….”Lamb said, “It was a good visit, but I don’t know yet. I’m going to take more visits.”
There was no …BUT…..which followed.
2010 Recruits: Kentucky : Zero for TWO
Memphis: ONE for ONE.
Lets keep the damage control to a MIN.
Please share your opinion on the situation.
If you were the SECOND CHOICE ….YOU would also want to do other visits as well.
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USC.trojan / July 2, 2009
AZ,
Heads UP…
You wrote about Miller being LIGHTS OUT….
And the WEST is catching ON.
DO YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP?
Three sites are reporting and scout has ARIZONA coming from last to THE BEST RECRUITING class in the PAC10 (Top10 nationally.)
From Scout..
“…Fast forward to Miller, and the UA has the best class in the Pac-10. It landed a legitimate big man and landed players that some of the biggest schools in the country wanted.
Miller is going to go up against any school at any time and have a very good chance ”
Some people say the best coaches are the meanest, but Miller’s personality is going to make him a major hit with recruits and alumni, something that is obviously necessary to repair the reputation of Arizona.
Parents are going to want to send their children to play for Miller and coaches will not hesitate to send their players. Like recruiting, it should be fun cheering for a man that is likeable.
Arizona is going to compete:”
Other sited with same messages are growing…GOOD READS.
uahoopscoach.com
/wildcatsportsreport.com/forums-home/wsr-free-forums
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pastaboy / July 2, 2009
I’d have to say Sean Miller has done the best recruiting job in the country relative to going to a new job late in the signing process …he’s essentially recruited rings around the child prodigy
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bball purist / July 2, 2009
Some of Miller’s former players are not too thrilled with him. There’s an undercurrent brewing to Miller and his relationship to his players. Maybe Sean’s out for himself like many coaches but he just hides it with a smile. ..while throwing the plqayers under the bus…
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Lord2FLI / July 2, 2009
Memphis and Arizona fans (Tiger fans in particular), nothing to see here, pastaboy has a response ready (one he thinks is really witty) and is just hoping opens the door for him.
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bball purist / July 2, 2009
New Poll:
Yes/No – BR gets into at least one altercation next year including shoving and is tossed from a game…
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anton / July 2, 2009
You forgot to add…took over the UC job with a roster that comprised of one walk on, one transfer from a NAIA school, and one scholarship player who was just a role player from JUCO. Add to that, UC did not recruit for almost 2 seasons before he took the job….the program was dead.
What that coach who can’t coach a lick has accomplished in three years is amazing.
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JackaLope / July 3, 2009
WOW, you were so proud of this post that you had to copy and paste it from another article to this one.
If you want to rant about Cincy or any other small, semi-relevant team, at least change your name. Maybe you can fool us.
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