OT: Lance Stephenson

[KingSpeed]

Darling of the playoffs. #40 pick in the 2010 Draft. GREAT Draft for Pacers. Got Paul George too! We got Babbitt if you're keeping score. Is Will Barton our Lance Stephenson?

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I loved Stephenson's talent coming out. He should have stayed at least another year in college, he would have been a much higher pick.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Darling of the playoffs. #40 pick in the 2010 Draft. GREAT Draft for Pacers. Got Paul George too! We got Babbitt if you're keeping score. Is Will Barton our Lance Stephenson?

I don't think Barton will be as good as Stephenson.

Stephenson has always been extremely talented. Didn't his off court troubles contribute to him falling to pick #40?

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

BTW, pretty crazy Barton and Stephenson are the same height, but Stephenson has 50-60 pounds on Barton.

 

[NOVoodoo]

I don't think Barton will be as good as Stephenson.

Stephenson has always been extremely talented. Didn't his off court troubles contribute to him falling to pick #40?

Probably... he's had that reputation since high school. The guy still finished high in the rankings (#11 on Rivals), but there was a time as a So/Jr where he was in the #1 conversation, but then his stock started to plummet his senior year -

His stock has fallen farther than General Motors. Once the most-hyped recruit in the country, Lance Stephenson enters June without a school, without much hype and with many in recruiting circles saying he's not worth the trouble. This begs the question: Does anybody still want Lance Stephenson?

....

The questions aren't about Stephenson's game, but about the off-court issues. He seems to be the guy that every coach would rather be somebody else's problem. Between the pending criminal charge, questions about amateur status and the general sense that where Stephen goes drama follows, he just might not be worth it. Gary Williams, for instance, is desperate to sign a big-time national recruit. Will putting up with a possible Stephenson-headache be worth it for next season?

"[Lance] was worthy of being on [the under-18 men's national team in 2008], but what you deal with is it would have taken too much energy for the coaches to maintain Lance playing less minutes and being on the bench, and it would have diverted [them] from working with the top five to seven guys to win a gold medal."

Translation: Stephenson is a chemistry killer. Taking one-and-done guys (as Stephenson is likely to be) is always a crapshoot, but there always seem to be more danger with the ones whose feet are already out the door before they step foot on campus. That doesn't lead to Final Fours, it leads to first-round NCAA tournament exits and a difficult recruiting situation in the fall.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basket...still-want-Lance-Stephenson-?urn=ncaab,167162

I'm just looking forward to him actually being on the court this time around, so he can back up his LeBron taunts -

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

Via ESPN

Just a month after the Pacers gambled a bit and signed him to a four-year contract in 2010, a risk for a second-round pick with his checkered past, Stephenson was arrested for pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-130518/daily-dime

Not too long after that a prostitute was going after him thru media for refusal to pay after services rendered.

People complain that the Pacers have low attendance for a winning team. I look at this as a partial reason why the team failed to reconnect after the Malice in the Palace.

With Lance it has always been problems between the ears. Will does not look to have as high of ceiling but a good kid.