Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 9:08 am  |  83 responses

Breaking: Lance Stephenson to NBA

by Ben Osborne

Having not spoken to the Stephenson family since Cincy played at St. John’s in January, I was startled to hear from Lance and his father this morning. I was not startled by wrote they wrote, however. In short, Lance is going to the NBA. They call him Born Ready, and now will be his chance to prove it. Good luck, Lance.

Here’s the complete text I received at 8:05 AM:

“What’s up Ben ? I have decided to withdraw from the University of Cincinnati and enter my name into this year’s NBA draft. After carefully reviewing my options, it is now clear to me that the need to emotionally and financially support my family, especially my young daughter, along with my long-standingand burning passion to play in the NBA, outweighs my desire to return to the University of Cincinnati.

I want to thank the administration, the athletic department and the entire coaching staff especially Mick Cronin and Tony Stubblefield at the University of Cincinnati for their support and guidance overthe course of this past year.  It was and always will be a privilege to be a Bearcat.”

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  • Sparty’s Law

    How has this gotten so many posts? Is this going to happen every time a player with late-first-round potential declares for the draft? We’re not exactly talking about John Wall here, folks.

  • http://sevendeu2u.wordpress.com/ Seven Duece

    There’s not a lot of 2 guards that can keep him in check, so I see him doing some nice things in the L. Either way, nothing wrong with him providing for his family.

  • http://www.stonesthrow.com/madlib Michael NZ

    I’d rather take Gordon Hayward.

  • Reemo

    @nbk

    So money is the only thing that makes you successful? How about getting a college degree heaven forbid…for free

  • Rob

    People seem to think John Wall is the most awesome college player in the world (with good reason), but I don’t think he would have the same numbers as Lance if he had played for a team like the Bearcats.
    Needs are needs. I do think one more year of college would’ve been better for Lance as a player, but he’s feeling the necessity to help his family so I wish him luck.

  • dw24

    I’d take Hayward, Wes Johnson, Aminu, Turner, Xavier, James Anderson, Jacob Pullen, Crawford, and others before him. So yes there are 30 people better than him out there. Arrogant, streetballer, selfish, under developed, and lacking consistency. Will be another Lincoln Bust just like most NY players. Way too selfish and way too high on himself.

  • dw24

    And by the way I know for a fact Lance’s grammar is not that good as the above text shows. It was probably something like “Ay yo dog Umma balla son n Umma goin 2 da leegue so KoB3 can do meh.”

  • Mr. Robinson

    There is one cat on these comment sections that stick out in my mind when it comes to being a racist and a sexist. There are a few cats, but, one sticks out in particular.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    I’m guessing late first round as well. He’s made a big enough name of himself that at least 1 team in the first round is going to make a gamble for him.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    name *for himself

  • therighttoremainsalient

    I’m still going to take Jon Scheyer with my pick! :)

  • Andrej

    i just hope he gets drafted , ive been really high on him but hes dissapointed this season

  • Royal

    I think Lance is more determined about getting his folks out of the projects than he is being NBA ready.I really can’t blame the man……..

  • http://www.realcavsfans.com Anton

    Dude can’t seem to keep anything under wraps…

  • http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

    He will be good in the NBA because College wasn’t his kind of game but NBA is all about spacing and hes going to do great in those systems.

  • aceofspades22

    It’s unfortunate that Lance has to leave Cincy so early. Dude’s game is so unpolished, and he’s only feeding the reputation of NY players being busts. I long for the days when quality players actually emerged from our streets, not a bunch of streetballers with no real skill.

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  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    I will not pretend to be a NCAA expert. I just dont follow it.. But usually around this time theres a good 5-8 players that I become familar with.. Not this year. All I hear about is John Wall.. Weak draft?

  • big easy

    man i have very high hopes for Lance, but i really thought another year of college would do wonders for him. Good luck Born Ready, prove the doubters wrong

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Reemo: I agree with your values of education, really, I do. I think being educated is very important.
    But how many people do you know have graduated from college/university only to realize there no longer is a job market for them? A college degree isn’t always a ticket to big money.
    And lets be real, for a kid like Lance (and almost all basketball prospects in Div 1 NCAA schools), he’s been training and dedicating his entire life to basketball. Making the NBA is the most important priority for him, and the money that comes along with it–which is definitely a lot more than the money he’d make if he got a college degree. And frankly, I can’t blame him.
    I know money DEFINITELY isn’t everything, but basketball IS to a lot of these guys, and the money that comes along with it is incredibly high and just plain ridiculous to turn down. There’s no shame in doing whatever you love to do at a high level, even if it means skipping school education.

  • http://www.nba.com Dacre

    Hmm, I’m interested to see if he can get through training camp; certainly if he doesn’t make the top 20 picks… He could end up on the bench of a really strong team and not get a great deal of burn out there in 2011.

  • JoeMaMa

    Free education…like Stephenson cares. Or most others, for that matter. These guys were told at the age of 10, “you could make millions playing the game you love”…not, “you could get a degree in sociology”. The ballers are there to ball, and hopefully to get an NBA (or these days, even a Euro) contract once the opportunity comes along. The universities sell the players for money, and so does the NCAA. This is the reality. Besides, he’s got a pro game; he’ll make a roster, regardless of pick. The guy’s been through adversity and I’m positive he’ll battle through. Best of luck, Lance.

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  • http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    Lance would get the education for free, even if he leaves after a single year. As if the college is going to MAKE him pay, when he’s brought so much publicity to the school ($ etc). Don’t be naive.
    …
    The draft this year is pretty damn weak vs. previous years. I don’t see why Lance couldn’t be a 22-30 pick. If he performs well and dominates guys “projected” to be above him in Pre-Draft stuff.. he brings his name up as a solid 16-30 pick.
    If he performs poorly, he’s a good looking 2nd round pick a team might chance their arm on. Remember, Manu, Gil, Redd all went in the 2nd round. Gems in the rough.
    …
    @Ben – did his text/email also include the poor spelling? “long-standingand”, “overthe” – I’m curious to know if it was you, or him?

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  • Daniel

    Well, if it doesn’t work out in the L, maybe he can break Marbury’s ankles during practice in Shanxi…

  • RealTalk

    Lance Stephenson won city basketball championships in all four years of high school, is New York State’s all-time leading scorer in high school basketball, and was named to the McDonald’s All-American Team in 2009.Also he already finish one year of college. He was the top player and highest scorer for Cincinnati this season.Cincinnati’s Lance Stephenson won the Big Est Preseason Rookie of the Year award and the regular season Rookie of the Year award, nudging out Rutgers’ Dane Miller. He averaged 12.0 points per game, best of any freshman.He also had about a 3.4 or 3.5 GPA.Good Job Lance and you made a good decicion to enter in the NBA Draft.

  • BostonBaller

    I wish him well, I didn’t see any of his games at Cincy..I forgot he was in college since we had been hearing about him for 10 years now. lol

  • Luis Depradine

    Honestly dont get me wrong lance is a good player he was the big east freshman of the year. But he wasnt consistent in some games. I honestly beleive if he stays another year or so he would get better and have better draft position and most likely more dollars..but good luck brother in the league

  • realistically

    people talk about sebastian ha…stop stating the obvious..he knew he wasnt going to be spectacular in the nba but life isnt about being a hall of famer in the nba its about surviving..he said it best “this aint no game this is a business”. lance is simply taking a gamble as in what everyone of us does in life

  • http://www.motherjones.com AndTheJellosJigglin

    He thinks he can emotionally support his family better during a 100 game NBA season? Just tell it how it is, you would rather make money in the NBA rather then spend money to play basketball in the NCAA…

  • http://www.motherjones.com AndTheJellosJigglin

    Actually, good point, theres no way he’s paying for his education right now. But they arent paying him either. If he really wanted to take care of his family he would stay in school and take care of his kid. In the NBA he will see his kid twice a month.

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