Cincinnati News, Jeff Borzello

CINCINNATI BEARCATS LURKING IN BIG EAST PACK

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by JEFF BORZELLO

It’s no secret as to which Cincinnati player is the most well-known Bearcat heading into the season.

“I walk around, and people ask ‘How’s your freshman doing?’, sophomore Yancy Gates said, “and I know immediately who they’re talking about.”

Who they’re talking about is incoming freshman guard Lance Stephenson, the highly-touted guard from New York City who comes with a lot of hype – and a lot of baggage.

His recruitment had more twists and turns than a high-speed chase, and many questioned whether he would play college basketball at all.

Now that he is on campus, he will undoubtedly help Cincinnati move upwards in the standings.

“He’s taken a lot of heat,” senior guard Deonta Vaughn said. “But he wants to learn the game more; he’s matured a lot since he stepped on campus. He’s got love and passion for the game, and he’s going to help in the backcourt.”

“He’s going to take a lot of attention off all of us,” Gates added, referring to both on and off the court. “Teams can’t key on me and Vaughn, because Lance has the capacity to go for 20 himself.”

Cincinnati lost five of its last six regular-season games last season to fall out of NCAA Tournament contention, a feat the Bearcats don’t want to repeat this season.

“I was disappointed with the way we ended,” Gates said. “We lost some games we were capable of winning.”

With the return of four starters and the addition of a solid recruiting class, the Bearcats could be a sleeper in the Big East in 2009-10.

“I feel we’re underrated as a team,” Vaughn said. “We’re under the radar, but we know what have to do to get wins.”

Added Gates: “We’re going to be a lot better, just based on experience. We have a lot of returning players, and we’re going to have older players to help guide [the freshmen] in.”

According to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency rankings, Cincinnati was near the bottom of the Big East when it came to defense a year ago.

Vaughn notices a major difference at that end of the floor this season.

“We’re talking more on defense,” he said. “We get at each other. We don’t worry about scoring; if we couldn’t score, we wouldn’t be where we are. We’re try to get each other going.”

Another important difference this season for the Bearcats will be the point guard position. With the return of Cashmere Wright from an ACL injury and the addition of freshman Jaquon Parker, Vaughn will be able to move over to the shooting guard position.

However, while many expected Wright to takeover the starting job, don’t give him the keys to the offense just yet.

“Jaquon Parker [has been very good],” Vaughn said. “He know what he’s doing; on the defensive end, he really gets after it. He won a state championship in Virginia, so he knows what it takes.

“[Wright] is looking like his old self,” he added. “But I’m working on him talking more. Cash is kind of a quiet guy, [and he needs to be more vocal].”

As long as Stephenson stays focused and point guard sorts itself out, this could be a memorable year for Cincinnati.