Most of the top seniors in the nation are planning in-home and official visits with colleges, but Lance Stephenson appears to be laying low and waiting until the spring.
In that respect, he could follow the path set by Tyreke Evans, who waited until April to announce his commitment to Memphis over Villanova and Texas.
“Right now, I’m just worrying about basketball and at the end I’ll do all that college stuff,” the 6-foot-5 Stephenson, a senior guard at Brooklyn Lincoln, told me recently. “I’m going to do my high school season and after that I look forward to telling everybody what school I should go to.”
Stephenson continues to list Kansas, Texas, Memphis, USC and St. John’s among his favorites, although no officials or in-homes are in the works, as far as we know.
“I would like to visit Memphis, Texas, Kansas and USC a little bit more,” Stephenson said.
As far as Kansas, Stephenson said: “I like the tradition of Kansas, the coach (Bill Self). I like the players that have played there. ”
On Memphis, Stephenson said: “Me and Derrick Rose are cool. We went to the adidas Nations last year, we talked about how he’s doing. I wish him the best of luck. He said, ‘You next, so watch me and I’m going to show you how you do it.’ And he showed me.”
Stephenson, ranked No. 9 in the Rivals 150 for the Class of 2009, has previously visited USC and UCLA unofficially for AAU tournaments, and USC coach Tim Floyd was actively watching Stephenson this summer in Las Vegas, as was St. John’s coach Norm Roberts.
Asked if he was still considering St. John’s, Stephenson said, “Yeah, yeah.”
Some observers continue to speculate that Stephenson may go overseas next year, following Brandon Jennings, who signed a three-year deal to play in Italy.
“We’re just not talking about it really,” Lance Stephenson Sr. said of his son’s plans. “We’re just going to keep it private. That’s the way it is.”
(Photo courtesy Daily News)
