Reports: Lance Stephenson to Cincinnati

Could it finally be over? According to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, the Lance Stephenson sweepstakes have finally come to an end, with late entry Cincinnati snagging the coveted superstar. Coveted might be the wrong word, as Lance has seen college after college pull their scholarship offers. Colleges deciding to rescind their offers to Lance stem from concerns over his pending sexual assault case and eligibility issues related to a tour of the Under Armour facility (by CEO and Maryland Booster Kevin Plank) while on an official visit to the University of Maryland, as well as BornReady.tv – a website that followed Lance around like he was P.Diddy invading the Playboy Mansion.

It’s time. Having watched Stephenson, AKA ‘Born Ready’ very closely for the past 4 years and seeing a high school career that includes 4 straight PSAL championships and becoming the all time leading scorer in NY state, it’s time for Lance to move on with his career. He’s dominated the high school ranks, ever since he garnered national attention following a battle with OJ Mayo at ABCD camp, as just an 8th grader. It was that moment that Lance made it known that he was taking Sebastian Telfair’s thrown, as the next king of NY.

As is the case with every superstar that comes through NY, the media builds you up to knock you down and Lance is no different. There’s no debating the fact that Lance Stephenson is not a saint. In fact, he might have the worst body language of any player in the history of high school basketball, in part because his high school coach doesn’t exactly believe in discipline, but also because Lance just doesn’t get it yet. But to be fair to Lance, he has also received his shake of unjust press.

There were times as a Sophomore and Junior that I watched Lance play and I thought NBA superstar, as long as he makes the right decisions and gets the mentoring he needs to head down the right path. It was only two summers ago, that I watched Stephenson dominate Tyreke Evans (4th pick), DeMar DeRozan (9th pick) and every other player that tried to check him at the Rucker Park for the Elite 24. There were also high school games where I felt like I was watching a man among boys on the court. Imagine, LeBron decided to play in the D-League this year, that’s what it must have felt like for Lance.

Unfortunately, this past season Lance has bulked up to a point where he looks slower and much less athletic on the court. He didn’t look dominate in primetime games and his first step was not nearly as explosive as it has in the past. His ability to get above the rim has never been his strong suit, but the new weight he’s put on has made it much more apparent.

With his decision to head to Cincinnati to play his college ball, there is a multitude of pros and cons associated with this choice. But the biggest pro, is that he’s able to get away from all the distractions associated with being home in NYC. He’s going to have many challenges ahead, but the fate of his career will lie in his hands. With all of his skills, it would be a shame to see it go to waste.

There’s no doubt, we’ll all be watching.