Big East Tournament, Connecticut News, Matt Whitfield

LANCE STEPHENSON AT HOME UNDER GARDEN LIGHTS

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While an extended stay in New York City and Madison Square Garden is something new to most of the Cincinnati Bearcats on Mick Cronin’s roster, there is one player that is an old pro at playing under the bright lights and scrutiny that the Garden brings.

The NBE Big East Freshman of the Year Lance Stephenson was a New York City basketball prodigy since he was in 6th grade and the legend of the player known as ‘Born Ready’ grew to a climax as Stephenson led Lincoln High School to four consecutive PSAL championships on the Garden floor. This week he returned home hoping to help the Bearcats turn around a season that has not lived up to the preseason expectations heaped upon them by adding Stephenson to an experienced returning cast.

Without a single player on the roster that has experienced a Big East Tournament win the Bearcats and their coach turned to Stephenson in crunch time Tuesaday night to get over the hump. After a furious late rally by Rutgers tied the score at 68-all in a 2010 Big East Tournament first round game, Stephenson drove the lane, drew contact and was sent to the line with 1.8 seconds left. The freshman stepped to the line, like he has done many times at the Garden, and calmly made the first free throw giving the Bearcats a 69-68 win.

“Yeah, I think I’m playing my best right now just because my teammates are putting pressure on me, as we go to win these games and I can play under pressure,” Stephenson said.

In the first round win, ‘Born Ready’ finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists without a turnover. He scored 10 of his points during a four-minute span that turned a 48-43 Scarlet Knights’ lead into a 57-52 lead for the Bearcats with 7:17 left in the game and Cincinnati held the lead until a Mike Rosario three-pointer tied the score with 16 seconds left, setting up Stephenson to be the hero seconds later.

Stephenson spent his high school days under a microscope as the next great basketball prodigy from the NYC playgrounds. There was an on-line reality show made of him and his rise through the high school ranks called BornReady.tv, he appeared in the documentary Gunnin’ for the No. 1 Spot which was directed by the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch, and many similarities of his career and recruitment were made to the Spike Lee movie He Got Game based on the fictional Lincoln High School star Jesus Shuttlesworth, played by Ray Allen.

All the attention brough negative press and consequences. Stephenson is an intense competitor and his body language towards teammates, coaches and officials labeled him as a potential team-wrecker (even coach-killer) by some in the media. In January of 2008, Stephenson was suspended from school for five days and missed two games following an altercation with a teammate and then in October of that year, he was arrested for groping a 17-year-old inside of Lincoln and he faced a Class B misdemeanor sexual assault charge. His parents ended the “Born Ready” reality show following the arrest.

While the legal questions surrounded him and the expected questions of his amateur would need to be answered before suiting up for a college, Stephenson’s recruitment seemed to center on who is no longer recruiting him rather than who was. While most top schools ended up backing away it looked like in the end Stephenson would remain home and play for St. John’s. However on June 30th Stephenson signed a federal grant in-aid with Cincinnati.

A few weeks following his commitment to UC Stephenson agreed to a plea deal that called for him not to serve jail time in his sexual assault case. The NCAA then cleared Stephenson to play and confirmed his amateur status just a little more than a week before the season opener in November and his freshman season was allowed to get under way on time. After a bit of a roller-coaster of a freshman season on the court he finished the campaign leading all Big East frosh in scoring at just over 12 points a game, but for the expectation that Cincinnati would be a short-stay before entering the 2010 NBA Draft it might not have lived up to the high expectations. However, Stephenson is not regretting the decision one bit to be a Bearcat.

“It’s great playing at Cincinnati, it keeps me grounded and makes sure that I’m on point and I think that my teammates and my coach help me a lot,” said Stephenson.

As the season wore on it looked more and more that Stephenson’s draft status was not going to be in the lottery-lock area people forecasted it would. News broke that he had decided he would be returning for a sophomore season a couple weeks ago. While Stephenson did not deny those reports last night after a thrilling comeback win over Louisville the future is not currently on his mind.

“I’m just worrying about this season right now,”Stephenson told NBE’s Matt Whitfield. “I’m just trying to win these game, hopefully get to the Big East Championship and make the tournament.”

Making the tournament was thought to be a sure-fire goal for Cincinnati this season. By adding Stephenson to the mix that included 2008-2009 All-Big East freshman Yancy Gates and senior guard Deonta Vaughn they were expected to be a trio to lead UC into the conference’s upper echelon. Instead a late season slump had the Bearcats 7-11 in the Big East and 16-14 overall heading to New York City.

Now after the win over Rutgers and a come-from-behind win over 6th-seeded Louisville, where Stephenson added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, the 11th seeded Bearcats now prepare for West Virginia in their quest for a Big East championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, likely the only shot they have to make it to the Dance.

“I’m sure that the bubble talk will begin again,” Mick Cronin said followin the win over Louisville. “We’ve been through all of that. Our guys really, it’s funny, they’ll tell you, they’re not even interested in that. They want to win the Big East Tournament, the Big East Championship. That’s what they’re here for.”

Stephenson echoed his coach’s comments.

“We are just worrying about the Big East Tournament,” Stephenson said. “We are playing under pressure, their pressuring us to win these games and make the tournament, so we got to try to keep winning and play the best that we can play.”

Next up in their quest is the Mountaineers, a team Cincinnati played tough against in Morgantown back on February 27th having an early double-digit lead before falling 74-68. Stephenson had 14 points and 9 rebounds in the contest but was just four of 16 from the field against the long, lean and athletic line-up of WVU.

“West Virginia is a good team, a real good team, so were gonna battle and try to win and it’s gonna be a tough one,” said Stephenson looking ahead to tonight’s 9 PM quarterfinal contest following the win Wednesday night.

With Born Ready on their side the Cincinnati season looks to have been re-born. Can New York City’s latest ‘chosen one’ lead his team to an impropable run to the 2010 Big East Tournament on the court he has achieved so much past success on?

Stay tuned to find out….