**Check out my feature on Brandon Jennings wanting to play for the Knicks.
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GREENBURGH, N.Y. – OK, now I officially have no idea where Lance Stephenson is going to college.
Just a week after I said I thought Maryland was the leader for his services, the Baltimore Sun is quoting two unnamed sources as saying the Terps are no longer recruiting the 6-foot-5 Stephenson.
Last week Lance said he was considering Arizona, Florida, Maryland and Memphis and would decide within “three weeks.”
If Maryland and Florida are both out, does he end up at Arizona or Memphis? Or does he go somewhere else, like a Florida International?
At various times, I have thought St. John’s, Kansas and Maryland would land Lance, the all-time leading scorer in New York State history and a McDonald’s All-American. Now all three schools appear to be out.
I still don’t believe any college commitment can happen until after Stephenson’s sexual assault case is resolved. It was adjourned until June 29.
Could Europe be an option?
The Stephensons have repeatedly said it is not, but Brandon Jennings said he thought Europe would be a good move for Lance.
“Yes, I really do,” said Jennings, who spent last season in Italy and on Monday worked out for the Knicks in preparation for the upcoming NBA Draft. “I think it will humble him a lot. I think he’ll need that, just make him mature on and off the court, start doing things for himself, taking care of his responsibilities.”
Yet Jennings admitted he hadn’t spoken directly to Stephenson.
“No, the only person I’ve talked to is Jeremy Tyler,” Jennings said, referring to the 6-10 San Diego High School junior who will skip his senior year of high school to play in Europe. “He’s real excited and I can’t wait for the kid to go over there.”
“I think that’s a really good idea,” Jennings added of Tyler. “It’s more of a big man’s game over there. The bigs get to stay in the key. The bigs get to do a lot, so I think he’ll do better than I did. I don’t think he should go to a team that’s really, really good. He should go to a team that’s so-so OK so can get some playing time and get used to playing.”
Jennings also said anyone who goes to Europe should be accompanied by his parents. Brandon’s mother and younger brother spent the year in Italy with him.
“I think any kid [who] goes over there, they should have their parents or somebody go over there with them,” he said. “I wouldn’t do it by yourself for your first year.”
More teams are getting off the Lance Stephenson bandwagon…BIG SURPRISE!!
To be sure though….I do hope some team picks him up…probably Memphis. Pastner is doing great already and the fan base seems to be fine with questionable character guys…
Not to mention, I assume Pastner is going to continue using the DDM system which probably appeals to Lance.
Sonny V. has already said that he doesn’t think the Stephensons are cut out for Europe…He never gave any solid reasons why…But Sonny seems to stay in tune with the pulse of the European leagues so if he doesn’t think the Stephensons should make the jump to Europe — maybe he knows something we don’t.
Goes back to one of my earlier comments. If Lance goes to Fla. Int’l, does Isiah grope Lance’s girlfriend?
jennings giving advice … isn’t that a peach.
Lance is going to Arizona and will be the freshman of the year.
I know Pastner is still recruiting him for no other reason than he has just 9 players right now …..and a practice player walk on. Not only will Pastner use some ddm this year but will add the Ariz. 1/4 uptempo game which he claims moves the ball up faster than the ddm . Also he’s not thrilled how the ddm gets zoned just about every game . If its down to Ariz. or Memphis …..I give the edge to Pastner .
JP to continue JC tradition of having the NCAA sniffing dogs at his heels….
Now that Meeks is gone…a.KY. blog is speculating whether or not Cal will use the scholarship this year. Stephenson? Henry? If Xavier is truly unhappy at Kansas ….would he bolt for the guy who originally recruited him ?
“I think he’ll need that, just make him mature on and off the court, start doing things for himself, taking care of his responsibilities.”
“Jennings also said anyone who goes to Europe should be accompanied by his parents.”
—-
forgive me for nitpicking, but aren’t these 2 statements by jennings contradictory? yeah, go to euro and become a man, but don’t forget to bring mommie along cuz you just might need some help standing up. what a goober. just goes to show, that absence makes the mouth runneth all over. since he’s been back he’s been talking a lot of smack and giving everybody advice. i liked him better when he was abroad and never heard a peep out of him.
UMD – Sir Lance-or-not – NOT!
purist
is born ready abroad ready?
No that will not happen. I’m a UK fan and Cal has said that scholarship will not be filled…
Even if Cal went back on that– he isn’t interested in Lance and Xavier is staying put in Kansas. X’s mom is the boss.
Maybe Europe is his best option after all?
Finger – Yes, Lance and his family should pack up and have a Family Vacation in Europe. At least mom and dad can be with him. They can do another documentary, this time of his life in Greece, and if Lance meets his furutre wife there they can make a movie too, My Big Phat European Wedding – Born Ready to Marry
)) ha ha
I don’t see Lance going to Europe unless his court case goes south . After the case is resolved I think we’ll see him make a quick decision …..and I have a feeling its going to be Memphis ….. with guys like Sallie , Mack , Witherspoon returning …along with Coleman , Garcia and Latavious Williams ….they could be a top 15 team …. especially with the conference schedule ….. it seem like some of these schools want him but don’t want to publically say so …Pastner is on record as saying he’s recruiting Lance and he wants Lance at Memphis . That could make the difference imo.
Rasta Pasta – JP to continue JC tradition of having the NCAA sniffing dogs at his heels….
Oh Pasta you and your crack pot ideas. X bolting from KU to join Cal….I suppose your rehasing old rumors and fishing for another debate, but we have wised up were not going to take that stink bait!
“Pastner is on record as saying he’s recruiting Lance and he wants Lance at Memphis .”
… and this would be considered a MAJOR ncaa violation.
Pasta is just mad because his shady program has and never will win a National Championship. As he mentioned before, even Holy Cross has won one of those. What a loser.
Tyreke Evans took a rebuilding class to the sweet 16 …..Lance could take this Memphis class there also …with some luck maybe an elite 8 …… a nice foundation on which Pastner can build for 2010 …already with the Barton’s signed and the liklihood of Joe Jackson signing …look for Memphis to maintain its status as one of the top 5 programs in the country by 2010 .
Top 5 programs in the country today …1. N.Car. 2. Memphis 3. KU 4. Uconn 5.U.C.L.A.
… 6. Holy Cross?
Holy Cross is unranked ……just like Maryland
Name the team that isn’t on this list?
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=4262039
lmao! Yup, there’s Maryland, no Holy Cross…
All kidding aside, one would be foolish not to think Memphis moves onto every list if they get Lance. Not saying they suddenly become the greatest team ever, but it’d be hard to leave any team off with two five star players on the roster.
That’s not a list ….that’s an outdoor porta john stopped up by Andy Katz ….. with no toliet paper …after eating 3 pizzas .
Nor on this one!!!
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11859618
PastaBOY, it’s past your bedtime. Go to sleep, and continue dreaming.
If Katz’s e-mail is an outdoor johnny on the spot, then yours would be the thick layer of scum that resides the plastic urinal. Memphis as number 3? Are you kidding me? Uconn number 5? Please explain to me why you think that is even logical.
Actually I have Memphis at 2 ……. Top Seeds in the tourney last year …..Memphis ……KU ….N.Car…..and U.c.l.a. ……Uconn was a top seed this year …probably should have been a 2 …..these teams are playing consistently better than anyone else over the past few years ….. record wise …seeding wise …..result wise …Florida had a 2 year run then disappeared ….. Louisville and Mich. St. pop in get slaughtered then disappear …..these 5 teams are dominant now …even though U.C.la looks like they may be ready to disappear …we’ll see . Uconn is 4 btw…not 5.
Im not understanding what these rankings are signifying. Are they your preseason tope 5 picks?
No …these are the overall top 5 teams in college basketball TODAY ….based upon their performance the past few 5 years ……
The CBS list makes much more practical sense, though Nova and Purdue should probably be higher and Xavier should be there, I think most of it is pretty spot on…
YESTERDAY not TODAY, Memphis is taking a downturn, probably won’t be for long, but they will not be “the shit” next year like they were the past few years.
Don’t you have to at least win a national championship to earn that label? I don’t think owning a weak mid-major conference qualifies as being “the poop” either.
Conference doesn’t matter come tournament time.
Funny …how no one criticizes Gonzaga about their Conference
or Xavier …… probably because they haven’t been a 1 or 2 seed 4 years running .
If Memphis gets Lance …they may not take a downturn ….they may be better than last year .
No, no, no don’t get it twisted, I would have problems with anyone touting either school Gonzaga or Xavier greatness while being situatied in a Mid-Major.
Xavier has gone further in the big dance for the last 3 years than Duke has …..not saying they’re great …..but is Duke anymore?
No body is criticizing Gonzaga or Xavier, because their isnt a homer on here talking about how great they are every second, and how they would have been national champs if it wasn’t for a “fluke” shot, or how they are the best program in the country over the last 5 years, and so on, and so on… Pastaboy, you give Memphis a bad name.
Oh sure ….Lance is out at Maryland …..so take it out on Pasta ….same ole stuff from you Terp .
Yeah, Lance is out FOR Maryland, not the other way around.
The Maryland story quoted “unnamed sources” – pretty typical for any & all rumors about Stephenson. Still, with Vasquez coming back I’d have a hard time seeing Lance in a Maryland uniform. Vasquez isn’t anywhere close to Steve Blake as a point guard and that might frustrate a scorer like Stephenson. But nothing would surprise me; this recruitment has been insane. Maryland has a guard named Cliff Tucker who has shown he can score a lot of points when he gets playing time. They could be a decent team next year if the two incoming Freshmen play well in the paint.
As for Lance, Memphis might indeed be the best place for him because he could take over for Evans. I have no idea what kind of offense Pastner will run because I know nothing about him except he seems to recruit with the best of them.
I guess we’ll all see in July – Maybe Stern can grant him an exemption to stay home and save the Knicks. (kidding).
terp …. glad to see Vasquez is coming back for you guys ( snickers) …… Pastner will run uptempo …ddm and the Ariz 1/4 …. ideal for Lance …..but quite frankly …at this point I’m tired of all these prima dona’s ….. make a decision and quit milking the press .
At this point it’s not clear if Arizona or Memphis are even ready to have him sign until after his legal situation is resolved, is it?
Pasta – do you believe he’ll hurt the Terps or help them? I get sick of his mouth and hot dog style, but the kid can play basketball. You didn’t see him at his best last year in the tournament.
So yeah – AZ reports that Memphis might be the last team standing for Lance-a-Lot; but who the hell knows?