Lance Stephenson was courted by both Kansas coach Bill Self and St. John’s coach Norm Roberts this weekend and it appears that he will choose between those two schools in the coming days.
The NCAA late signing period begins Wednesday.
Self flew up to visit with the 6-foot-5 Stephenson at his Coney Island home on Friday afternoon. Stephenson and his family later took an official visit to St. John’s that included the standard campus fare as well as a visit to Roberts’ home in Dix Hills, N.Y.
“The visit went well,” a St. John’s source said. “There is no timetable [on a decision]. He and his family had a good time.”
A source close to the Stephenson family told me the other day that Lance was inching closer to a decision.
“They’re getting closer to making a decision,” the source said. “They [the coaches] are all making their last minute pitches and I think this is St John’s last chance to beat the other couple [schools]. This is their best opportunity right now. This is their last chance right now.”
Meantime, Xavier Henry told Michael Eaves of Fox Sports Net at the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland that he is planning on visiting Kentucky after the Jordan Brand Classic on April 18.
Henry will play at either Memphis, Kansas or Kentucky next season.
If the Henry decision drags out over time, Kansas could opt to take a commitment from Stephenson and get it over with.
On the other hand, both Xavier and C.J. Henry could wind up at Kentucky and Stephenson could end up at St. John’s, leaving Kansas without either.
Kentucky coach John Calipari is reportedly in Portland. Although he cannot attend games at the Nike Hoop Summit, he can speak with players away from the arena.
He has already landed former Memphis commit DeMarcus Cousins and is now working on the Henrys and John Wall, who once listed Memphis as a favorite.
Eaves said he spoke with Wall in Portland and asked if Kentucky was a strong candidate for his services.
“Definitely,” Wall told him.
Wall told Eaves that he would be interested in playing for Calipari because he sent Derrick Rose to the NBA and likely will do the same with Tyreke Evans. Both of those players spent just one year on campus before declaring for the NBA.
In Saturday night’s game between Team USA and the World Select team, Henry scored a game-high 22 points, hitting 6-of-11 from 3. Wall added 13 points and a tournament-record 11 assists. He also tied the steals mark with five.
Wall, Henry and Cousins will all be in New York this week for the Jordan Classic.
