Quote:Lance Stephenson is known to those in New York as "Born Ready."

But his Cincinnati teammate, Deonta Vaughn, has dubbed him something else.

"Almost There."

"He thinks it's funny. It's a sign that Lance is just one of the guys here," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "The guys get on him and joke around with him. He's never really been able to just be one of the guys before."

That's true. Stephenson grew up as the Next Big Thing coming out of New York, following in the footsteps of overhyped guys like Lenny Cooke and Sebastian Telfair.

His recruitment became a complete mess, but eventually Cronin and the Bearcats landed the talented, yet enigmatic 6-foot-5 scoring guard out of Brooklyn.

So far, Cronin has nothing but praise for Stephenson, who still hasn't officially been cleared by the NCAA to play in games due to amateurism concerns.

"The communication between our office and the NCAA has been great," Cronin said. "We're working on it in a timely fashion, and it looks like it'll happen before the season starts and that's all you can ask."

While Stephenson is clearly the most high-profile name on the roster, Cronin is hoping he's the final piece needed to get the Bearcats back into the NCAA tournament.

Vaughn (15.3 ppg, 4.7 apg) has established himself as one of the top guards in the Big East, and Cronin believes he won't have to do it all himself as he was forced to do a year ago when he had to run his high school team.

Cashmere Wright, who Cronin expected to play the point as a freshman a year ago, is 100 percent after missing all of last season due to injury and should allow Vaughn to play off the ball.

Cronin has talent and options up front as well. Yancy Gates put up 10.6 points and 6.1 boards as a freshman, and Oklahoma State transfer Ibrahima Thomas, a skilled 6-foot-11 forward who has gained about 20 pounds and is up to 245, could make his way into the starting lineup when he becomes eligible after the first semester.

"We're going to have depth," Cronin said. "And we're not going to have to play up anymore."

What Cronin means by not having to "play up" is that he'll finally have the talent and bodies that he won't be overmatched on most nights in the Big East.

School began on Sept. 15, so Cronin has only had a few weeks to work with Stephenson on the court.

"So far he looks like the other freshmen," Cronin said, "only he's more talented than the rest of them. The thing you can tell is that he loves basketball and can't get enough of it. He's a New York City guy."

"There's no quit in him," he added. "He's a fighter."

Cronin has dealt with a few highly touted guys in the past when he was as a coach under Bob Huggins at Cincinnati. He recruited DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield, a pair of McDonald's All-Americans.

"No matter how talented a guy he is and how much is written about him, you've got to remember he's still just a kid," Cronin said of Stephenson. "People put this halo over his head, and you've just got to take it off. I'm going to take it off."

So far, Cronin said his prized recruit hasn't been late for a cl****, workout or team meeting.

"He wants everyone to know he's really a good kid," Cronin said. "He wants people to respect and to like him."

Cronin said Stephenson will have no shortage of adjustments – among them playing in a system, being able to defend consistently and working on his body language.

"His whole life it's been, 'Just give me the ball,'" Cronin said. "He's going to have to learn when to be aggressive and when to strike a balance because if you try to dominate every play, you'll get worn out."

Stephenson "Almost There"

Real nice article. Not that it ultimately matters, but the author seemed to be on point and it's refreshing to read an article that doesn't focus on questions on Lance's eligibility beyond Mick's positive perspective.

Questions about eligibility aside....anyone else pleased to see this kid finally be able to be, well...a kid?

Nice article. Aside from that, it seems that the filter over there at FOX is a bit harsh. Can't even slip by "Class" without it being tagged.

It will be interesting how he can complement the other players on the team as well as them doing the same for him.

(10-08-2009 08:03 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Questions about eligibility aside....anyone else pleased to see this kid finally be able to be, well...a kid?

Didn't really think about that. But yeah, moving to Cincinnati has got to be some kind of culture shock to him. Then again, living in New York, he was probably recognized just as much. I'm glad no one's put the Felipe Lopez hex on him.

(10-09-2009 12:25 AM)Lush Wrote:  

(10-08-2009 08:03 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Questions about eligibility aside....anyone else pleased to see this kid finally be able to be, well...a kid?

Didn't really think about that. But yeah, moving to Cincinnati has got to be some kind of culture shock to him. Then again, living in New York, he was probably recognized just as much. I'm glad no one's put the Felipe Lopez hex on him.

I'd bet he's not nearly as recognized in Cincy or even on UC's campus as he was in NYC. When you are the "next great thing" especially there everyone knows you and your life is lived in a fishbowl. I think that is why he will thrive at UC at least for a while. If he plays as well as advertised and the team does the BK (blows up in the media) I also think the team will benefit in 2 ways. #1 the pressure/spotlight will focus on him and allow the others to not be as scrutinized and #2 He'll be able to help with the whole fishbowl thing, especially for our FR and SO players not used to the kind of limelight the Bearcat hoops team hopefully will face this year.

The value of "Born Ready" to the UC program does not begin or end with his play on the floor. That fact that he signed with UC opens the door for other very high profile recruits to consider UC.

BTW, he has a handle that won't quit and, barring injury, will have a great NBA career.

(10-09-2009 11:51 AM)Cal1362 Wrote:  I'd bet he's not nearly as recognized in Cincy or even on UC's campus as he was in NYC. When you are the "next great thing" especially there everyone knows you and your life is lived in a fishbowl. I think that is why he will thrive at UC at least for a while. If he plays as well as advertised and the team does the BK (blows up in the media) I also think the team will benefit in 2 ways. #1 the pressure/spotlight will focus on him and allow the others to not be as scrutinized and #2 He'll be able to help with the whole fishbowl thing, especially for our FR and SO players not used to the kind of limelight the Bearcat hoops team hopefully will face this year.

You are very right about him not even being recognized on campus. I saw him today and he didn't even get a second look from anyone. BTW, even in a sweatsuit it was pretty obvious that he has bulked up some already since Deveroe's.

Quote:The value of "Born Ready" to the UC program does not begin or end with his play on the floor. That fact that he signed with UC opens the door for other very high profile recruits to consider UC.

Unless the real reason he signed with UC is everyone besides us bearcat fan know he won't be eligible.

If he don't play this year, I gotta wonder if mick just signed the kid to get people off his back for a while

(10-09-2009 12:29 PM)QSECOFR Wrote:  The value of "Born Ready" to the UC program does not begin or end with his play on the floor. That fact that he signed with UC opens the door for other very high profile recruits to consider UC.

BTW, he has a handle that won't quit and, barring injury, will have a great NBA career.

I don't know about the door opening thing.

It is getting in the door and making the sale that really matters to me.

Unless I missed something, our lone commit for next year was not influenced by Lance's coming.

And while I'm at it, what we need is big time post player, you know, like the ones the dominant Big East teams sign every year, and a point guard.

(10-09-2009 03:22 PM)OneUChoopsfan Wrote:  I don't know about the door opening thing.

It is getting in the door and making the sale that really matters to me.

Unless I missed something, our lone commit for next year was not influenced by Lance's coming.

Quotes from Justin Jackson on his verbal to Cincinnati from Rivals
"It was a great experience. I met with Lance Stephenson and the other guys. It was really cool. They're laid back and just focused on basketball."
"We've got a great future. Lance told me he was going to stick around. We'll have a great team."
Your missing a lot of things...

Quote:"We've got a great future. Lance told me he was going to stick around. We'll have a great team."

Yeah, most likely...either way if Lance goes pro or if he sticks around another year (ala Willia Warren) it will greatly benefit the program, I'm just ready to get these eligibility issues over with.

I just hope Lance isn't tooling around Clifton in brand new Navigator with 24" rims.

I don't care what the man is driving as long as he is kicking ass on the court.

(10-09-2009 05:20 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  I just hope Lance isn't tooling around Clifton in brand new Navigator with 24" rims.

Come on...Lance wouldn't be seen unless he was rollin wit 32s, Mick wouldn't do him like that

(10-09-2009 03:50 PM)b Wrote:  

Quote:"We've got a great future. Lance told me he was going to stick around. We'll have a great team."

:ncaabbs: :ncaabbs: :ncaabbs:

(10-09-2009 11:29 PM)QSECOFR Wrote:  

(10-09-2009 03:50 PM)b Wrote:  

Quote:"We've got a great future. Lance told me he was going to stick around. We'll have a great team."

:ncaabbs: :ncaabbs: :ncaabbs:

maybe 2 sets of those are in order?

(10-09-2009 11:51 AM)Cal1362 Wrote:  

(10-09-2009 12:25 AM)Lush Wrote:  

(10-08-2009 08:03 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Questions about eligibility aside....anyone else pleased to see this kid finally be able to be, well...a kid?

Didn't really think about that. But yeah, moving to Cincinnati has got to be some kind of culture shock to him. Then again, living in New York, he was probably recognized just as much. I'm glad no one's put the Felipe Lopez hex on him.

I'd bet he's not nearly as recognized in Cincy or even on UC's campus as he was in NYC. When you are the "next great thing" especially there everyone knows you and your life is lived in a fishbowl. I think that is why he will thrive at UC at least for a while. If he plays as well as advertised and the team does the BK (blows up in the media) I also think the team will benefit in 2 ways. #1 the pressure/spotlight will focus on him and allow the others to not be as scrutinized and #2 He'll be able to help with the whole fishbowl thing, especially for our FR and SO players not used to the kind of limelight the Bearcat hoops team hopefully will face this year.

Manhattan alone is about a million, maybe more more, people, and I doubt he gets recognized that much. Manhattan is roughly four times the size of Cincinnati. Not sure what borough Almost There resided, but this ain't Naw Yawk, but it is... in a way.

This eligibity issue is really starting to get irritating. Here we are a week before the season starts (practice at least)....and still we don't know. He either took compensation and is inelligible...or he didn't.


Why the fook does the NCAA drag this out every year?