St. John's Recruiting, Zach Smart

BORN READY TO ROCK?

Indications are Lance Stephenson headed to Jayhawk country

By Zach Smart

A source close to high school phenom Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson says that the 6-foot-5 wing is “definitely” headed to Kansas, corrupting the pure thrill of Stephenson’s heavily-anticipated press conference.

Stephenson, who averaged a sublime 32 points and 13 rebounds and spearheaded the Railsplitters to their school record fourth straight PSAL title, had narrowed his list down to three schools.

Maryland, where his teammate James Padgett will play next season, and St. John’s, burning to revive the program by reloading with local products, were the other two schools.

“He really wants to play for Bill Self,” the source said.

“They went pretty hard, he had a great visit, and they essentially sent (former NBA player) Danny Manning as the Mariano Rivera in this situation to close the deal.”

The source continued, “Lance understood the magnitude of this decision. He flirted with the idea of revitalizing the St. John’s program and sort of sprouting into a New York City icon by putting SJU and New York City back on the map. But realistically, he wants to win at a big-time program and Kansas is a perfect fit for him.”

While Johnnies head coach Norm Roberts went after one of the nation’s most highly sought after players hard, it seemed Born Ready had intentions of leaving the New York area all along.

Stephenson even said in a webisode of his online tv show that if he had the chance to leave where he’s from, he’d take it and run with it.

Of course, he was referring to the hardscrabble neighborhood in Coney Island, but staying local seemed like an afterthought to Stephenson.

The scene showed Stephenson appalled at the sight of a police murder scene and telling the camera he needs to get out of the area.

Apparently, Stephenson’s visit to the scenic campus, where fans treated the hyped to heaven-sent guard-wing like a God, was a successful one.

While Self and Manning–who Stephenson says he looks up to–offered the real sales pitch, the visit seems similar to Jesus Shuttlesworth’s weekend stay at Tech U in the 1998 film, “He Got Game.”

The Brooklyn-bred cat, who could take the city-to-sticks path that Russel Robinson took, may have taken in the blazing blue eyed beauties and beautiful countryside landscape.

“St. John’s just didn’t have the personnel,” explained the source.

“Coach Roberts certainly did a commendable job getting Omari (Lawrence) to commit and then going guns-a-blazing to reel in Stephenson, but their would have been too much weight under his shoulders. The microscope he would be under at all times was also brought to his attention. He needs to go to a place where he’s free from that type of pressure, hype and hyperbole.”

The source did not think that the Johnnies’ embarrassing loss to Marquette–during which they scored a paltry ten points in the first half–or the first round upset of Georgetown during the Big East tournament had affected his decision.

He did say, however, that Stephenson’s father had a major influence on his son’s decision. Lance’s father has coached Born Ready’s AAU teams and his been a significant presence in his basketball life.

Born Ready and his close friend and teammate, Darwin “Buddah” Ellis, made history this season by re-writing the record books and hanging the fourth consecutive PSAL title banner their senior year.

Ellis, who seemed to fall through the cracks in the recruiting process, is staying local. He’ll play at St. Francis NY in Brooklyn next season.

Long Island University, where Lincoln coach Dwayne “Tiny Morton” played, was the only other school considering the sharpshooting 5-foot-8 guard.

While Stephenson–he of the wowing streetball flair and otherworldly mano y mano moves, may not be Big East bound, some of his teammates might.

Shaquille Stokes is one blossoming young player who has watched his Division-I stock mount lately

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