Lance Stephenson is focused on playing basketball, not talking about colleges.
“I don’t want to talk,” Stephenson told the Daily News for its high school basketball preview. “Just want to play.”
Lincoln remains the preseason favorite to win its fourth straight PSAL city championship next spring at Madison Square Garden. The Railsplitters return the 6-foot-5 Stephenson, 6-8 Maryland-bound forward James Padgett and lead guard Darwin “Buddha” Ellis.
Got my tickets to see a couple
Here are a few notes from around the world of recruiting…
**Patterson (N.C.) head coach Chris Chaney says point guard Vincent Council of New York has offers/interest from Providence, Rutgers Charlotte and Arkansas and is “leaning toward Providence.” The 6-foot-2 Council is averaging 13 points and 10 assists for Patterson, ranked No. 3 in the National Prep Poll behind No. 1 Hargrave Military and No. 2 Brewster. Hargrave and Patterson will square off on Sunday in Maryland.
“[Council] has a very high basketball IQ,” Chaney said. “He really knows how to play. He’s a tough kid. He makes he right plays during the game. He’s one of those guys you can count on. He’s a quarterback who makes the right plays.”
If Rutgers wins against Louisville on Thursday night on ESPN, the Scarlet Knights will go bowling for a fourth straight year.
“The bottom line is, if we don’t prepare well and we don’t play well enough to give ourselves a chance to win, there there’s no point in even talking about that,” Rutgers QB Mike Teel said.
Maybe not, Mike, but here are some possible options.
NEWARK — Jeremy Hazell’s right hand was a good foot above the rim when he caught an alley-oop feed from Eugene Harvey and threw down a monstrous one-handed dunk late in the first half of Seton Hall’s game with Monmouth.
“When I threw it, I just knew it was too high and it was going way over his head,” Harvey said after the Pirates routed the Hawks 101-78 at the Prudential Center. “But somehow, some way he caught it. His arms are crazy long.”
Count former NFL quarterbacks Joe Theismann and Phil Simms among those who feel Plaxico Burress should be punished for his crimes.
“Sooner or later, the National Football League is going to have to take a stance on athletes regarding conduct,” Theismann, who led the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XVII, said Tuesday on a conference call promoting the New Jersey-Northeast All-Star High School Football Classic next May at Rutgers Stadium. “Somebody has to be told they’re no longer allowed to play in the game because of their conduct.
For more on Simms and Rutgers QB Mike Teel...
