Cincinnati Recruiting, Zach Smart

LANCE STEPHENSON SAGA MAY FINALLY BE OVER

Or maybe it is just the beginning…

by ZACH SMART

Several weeks ago, a friend mentioned some growing hearsay about the coaching staff at Cincinnati reaching out to Lincoln High star Lance Stephenson and his father.

I scoffed at the notion of one of the country’s elite, extraterrestrial, heavily-courted and controversial ballers heading to a program stuffed in the Big East’s lower percentile.

Then again, the Lance Stephenson saga and overblown recruiting process has become the watermark of atypic.

More rumors than a Perez Hilton blog–many of which signaled subversive maneuvers on both Stephenson and his potential hardwood home’s part–and a manifesto of doubt suddenly mired the electrifying 6-foot-6 guard in controversy.

Stephenson has committed to Cincinnati, according to a number of sources. It ends easily the most topsy-turvey recruiting process in the history of college basketball.

Every aspect of his young life and ensuing move was being analyzed, dissected, magnified, and thrown back at him by the media.

The kid who garnered the nickname “Born Ready” while manhandling on Gotham’s streetball circuit had ascended into celebrity status.

On the blogosphere, Stephenson was lambasted and pegged as a major risk for any Division-I program.

With the long arm of the NCAA beginning to crack down on schools that have allegedly bent the rules (see UConn, Memphis, or Southern California for more on that…).

Stephenson apparently already skyrocketed to stardom, launching into luminary levels with his online tv show (http://www.bornready.tv/).

Add in that Stephenson is a father and has been involved in a sexual assault case that’s yet to reach closure, albeit lawyer Alberto Ebanks vehemently denies that his client has done any wrongdoing.

Throw in supposed academic issues (odd because Stephenson has been academically eligible all four years at Lincoln), a long history of run-ins with Lincoln head coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, suspected violations of an NCAA handbook that’s longer than the Nile River…

Oh, and there’s also an attitude which kept him off the U.S. under-18 national basketball team, the fear of Stephenson bolting for the European professional ranks, and hearsay of Stephenson receiving offshore money, it’s transparent where the constant controversy came from.

The Cincinnati program could be on the verge of turnaround.

Bearcat big man Yancy Gates showed promise this season, shooting around 48 percent from the floor while establishing himself as one of the conference’s elite freshmen. All-league guard Deonta Vaughn also returns to the backcourt and will likely be paired with ‘Born Ready’ from day one.

The Bearcats return essentially their entire roster while reeling in a replenished recruiting class, headlined by explosive scorer Sean Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick, of White Plains, N.Y. is an explosive scorer from Division-I launchpads (White Plains High School and Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass.) known to breed high-end talent like Angelina Jolie breeds kids.

The recruiting process has taken twist and turn after twist and turn. It was almost etched in stone that Stephenson was Kansas-bound, with sources citing his desire to play for Bill Self and relationship with Jayhawk Danny Manning.

Sure enough, Kansas became an afterthought. Folks in the know claimed Stephenson was looking to ressurect an ailing program at St. John’s. He visited Norm Roberts’ Long Island home and toured the Queens campus.

Florida International was also embroiled in the seemingly never-ending Lance Stephenson sweepstakes.

With Isiah Thomas at the helm trying to revitalize a program starving for national visibility, nobody was writing it off.

“Thomas is going after Lance hard,” said a source with insider information back in May.

“He tried to get (Kentucky-commit) Eric Bledsoe as his first step to reviving that program. As of right now, Zeke has the upper hand on Arizona, Memphis and whoever else,” the source explained.

Arizona, Memphis, and Europe came back into the picture, and the whole recruiting rendezvouz continued to baffle hoopheads.

With Stephenson supposedly commited to Cincinnati, the storm may finally be over.

At the same time, however, a compartment of my brain tells me this is only the beginning. The Bearcats haven’t exactly been squeaky-clean over the years, and with a sizzling off-season that contributed to the downfall of USC, the circus could be back in town before we know it.

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