Please say Lance Stephenson is not eligible

[gladdenguy]

I have said a prayer and I am hoping, that with all the NCAA football overration (word?) of the football Bearcats, I would love for Lance Stephenson to be ineligible.
This would make my day.
Come on.........give me this.

[Lamont Sanford]

I'm with you GG. I hope the NCAA gives Lil Mick another middle finger ala John Riek, Adam Hyrunciak (sp?), Mike Williams, etc.

[GoMuskies]

I hope he's eligible. Won't make enough difference for them this year, and he can be in the NBA next year.

[Cincy Muskie]

I think Lance is looking at sitting out 4-5 games.

[XU05and07]

I think Lance is looking at sitting out 4-5 games.

Making his first game...

against X

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

He'll probaly be eligible after a suspension of games. From what I've read and people speculating, 4 games. Who knows though its all heresay

[gladdenguy]

Lance Bearcatister is saying on his blog Lance will have to sit for 2 exhibition games and 1 regular season game.
What a joke.

[Lamont Sanford]

Sounds like the NCAA was lenient on Lance and UC. Oh well, the kid will be one and done anyway...not to mention his is a chemistry killer. Just what Lil Mick needs.

[xubball93]

I say bring him and that punk-ass Pansy Gates on.

[Stonebreaker]

Sounds like the NCAA was lenient on Lance and UC. Oh well, the kid will be one and done anyway...not to mention his is a chemistry killer. Just what Lil Mick needs.

Looks like he's being unselfish on the court, and Mike D. thinks he'll be a top 5 frosh in the country. Like it or not, UC is going to be tough this year.

[Muskie in dayton]

Why would you want him ineligible? The better UC is, the more a victory helps us!

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Why would you want him ineligible? The better UC is, the more a victory helps us!

Exactly the way I've thought. Good for UC if they can reform him into a team player. I don't think he'll live up to the Decourcy/Mick hype, but he's definitely gonna be an NBA 1st rounder.

By the way, Mick called him the quickest guard since Van Exel....Downey anyone???? There is no way LS is quicker than Downey.

[gladdenguy]

Jimmy,
I think Mick was talking about Cashmere Wright...not Stephenson. No way Stephenson is that quick.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Jimmy,
I think Mick was talking about Cashmere Wright...not Stephenson. No way Stephenson is that quick.

Good point. I must have glanced over that...Still, I find it hard to believe he's quicker than Downey

[gladdenguy]

Good point. I must have glanced over that...Still, I find it hard to believe he's quicker than Downey

Mick probably didn't even take into account that Downey played at UC. Downey is probably quicker than Van Exel. I agree with you.

[sirthought]

Looks like Lance Stevenson is going to play.

Basketball in Cincinnati is going to have a lot of attention this season. Sounds like there isn't a lot this kid can't do offensively. He just may stay more than one year depending on where his defense is and how much he likes college. Everything I've heard is that his adjustment to school, classes, and practice have been great.

I think Cronin has been smart to limit his media exposure this summer and let him adjust to the city and his teammates.

UC is going to improve this year, count on it. Maybe it'll raise the viewing for crosstown shootout?

[_LH]

Still no word on Lance. That's not a good sign.

[xeus]

With Stephenson, Gates, Wright, and Vaughn, UC has a ton of potential this season. It's going to be a tough Shootout.

[Cincy Muskie]

I hope the kid is eligible this season. I want them at full strength. "Captain Excuse" Mick Cronin would be running out of stories on why his team can't compete. I am sure he would still call out his players in the media. Hey Cronin: maybe it is you that is not Big East caliber.

[xavierj]

Every time UC gets a player they are going to be the next coming. Cincinnati media and Mike D go way overboard when it comes to UC. With that said UC should be improved and be able to break the 0 for March streak under Mick. That would be just win any game in March period. UC was just a bad club last year so it will not be hard to improve upon that. If Mick's team tanks for the 4th straight year late in the season it will be time for a change in Clifton unless they are happy to be a football school now.

[wkrq59]

Looks like the NCAA is up to its old standards..I doubt the penalty --and there appears to be one coming down--will be a tiny three (two exhibition and one regular) game suspension. But I also doubt he'll get a full season of ineligibility. But you never know the NCAA. I think sometimes it depends on their oatmeal that morning or their conjugal success or lack of it the night before. Looks to me like a third to a half-season, in which case he might just as well head overseas.:D

[An X Fan]

No penalty for Stephenson. No games missed. I'll stop there.

[XU05]

Is this fact, or just another rumor?

[An X Fan]

Is this fact, or just another rumor?

Fact, per Tweets from C. Trent Rosecrans, Mo Egger, and Gary Parrish at CBS Sports.

[GuyFawkes38]

confirmed via lance mcalister:
http://twitter.com/LanceMcAlister/status/5461933849

[sirthought]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091105/SPT0101/311050114/1064/Report++UC+s+Stephenson+cleared


Report: UC's Stephenson cleared
Andy Katz of ESPN is reporting that UC freshman Lance Stephenson has been cleared to play by the NCAA and will not miss any games.

Katz reports he got a text message from UC coach Mick Cronin with the information.

“The guy can play offense,” Cronin said after Stephenson scored 22 points in 25 minutes during UC's intrasquad scrimmage. “He’s got a lot of natural, God-given ability. I think our style of play will help Lance.”

“The good part about it for Lance,” Cronin said, “is that he doesn’t have to carry our team. He’s got a lot of other players around him.”

The Bearcats begin their season tonight at 7:30 when they play Division II Saginaw Valley State at Fifth Third Arena in the first of two preseason exhibition games.

[wkrq59]

About what can be expected from NCAA. I would hope the same opportunities would be extended to all NCAA athletes, i.e. that their parents can benefit financially from their child's athletic abilities and that the kids can visit any damned camp or exhibition and receive any gifts associated therewith. That said, I'll bet this kid is a one-and-done for sure. :eek:

[D-West & PO-Z]

I'm glad, more credit will go to Xavier when we whoop them.

[AviatorX]

It's far less hypocritical to not suspend him at all then to admit he did wrong, suspend him for exhibitions, and then allow him to play and retain his eligibility.

[sirthought]

I really can't see why they'd suspend him. The incident with the one tour had to do with a Maryland booster, not UC. And they just had to check on whether any money was exchanged from the documentary series. His parents have said all along that they got no money from it. The NCAA found nothing.

[Snipe]

Much as it sucks to have them good again in some respects, I think this is great for us.

I am sick of the Shootout being on ESPNU or whatever. I want my ESPN I back full bore on the main station. Some people still rate the Shootout one of the best rivalries in college hoops. The fact that we are still in some of these polls is amazing if you consider that UC has been shit for 4 or 5 years.

We need them to be good. They are the yin to our yang. In the battle of Good against Evil, you can't have Good against "simply inept and mediocre". You need true EVIL. This guy is a large part of bringing that tradition back. Other programs wouldn't touch him. He has been investigated. And now that Nancy is gone, it harkens me back to the old days, where a player could drug and rape and underage girl in the team hotel the night before a game (stay classy). Where a guy could force his 8+ month pregnant girlfriend into the bathtub and break beer bottles over her head (stay classy). Or where another guy could be abducted, tied and bound and tortured and threatened with execution.

That stuff was great theatre. I can't wait for the Bearcats to be back with their latest already investigated moron. I love hating the Bearcats, but it only gives us maximum effect and exposure if they are winning. We need this rivalry back on the ACE, not the Deuce, not ESPNU, not ESPN360. We need it loud and proud. And we need to punish those evil fuck buttons and make them pay for their sins and their crimes against humanity. I await the latest thug with open arms. Bring it on. I want to crush their world. We f'ing own this town. No better way of showing that to the nation than the Crosstown Shootout.

[dc_x]

I can't wait for the Bearcats to be back with their latest already investigated moron. I love hating the Bearcats

Agreed. I am tired of this petty rivalry with UD. UC is much more worthy rival.

[DC Muskie]

I like how the NCAA suspends Dez Bryant for lying about hanging out with Prime Time, but Lance seems to get away scott free.

[bearcat65]

I like how the NCAA suspends Dez Bryant for lying about hanging out with Prime Time, but Lance seems to get away scott free.

Apples and oranges. I think Bryant got screwed and the penalty was overly harsh but he did lie about his association with Sanders. Stephenson and his parents have stated that they did not benefit financially from the born ready show and evidently the NCAA found nothing to dispute that or he would have been ruled ineligible. The NCAA has certainly not done UC any favors recently.

[DC Muskie]

Yes, it's apples and oranges I agree. The NCAA cares more about lying about who you were hanging out with rather than a appearing in a movie about yourself. Or whatever the hell it was.

Born Ready? Are you serious?

[bearcat65]

The NCAA cares most about not letting any money be earned that they don't get a cut of. Most hypocritical organization there is. I don't really know what Born Ready was about. One of those reality type deals I think but I guarantee that if the NCAA could have found any indication that money made it into the Stephensons hands that he would have been ruled ineligible. This is UC after all not USC.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

The NCAA cares most about not letting any money be earned that they don't get a cut of. Most hypocritical organization there is. I don't really know what Born Ready was about. One of those reality type deals I think but I guarantee that if the NCAA could have found any indication that money made it into the Stephensons hands that he would have been ruled ineligible. This is UC after all not USC.

Also, its not over. You can be sure the NCAA is watching him closely. So if Lance does anything stupid off the court, then the NCAA will be all over him. Or if the NCAA finds new evidence of him taking money from "Born Ready."

Regardless, he's eligible. It's good for everyone. I don't know if he can ever live up to the hype, but it should be a fun year for the Bearcats. If they don't make the NCAA with the talent they have, then Mick is fired.

I'm glad the kid can play. Kansas must be hating life right now haha, although they still have Xavier Henry - not a bad consolation prize

[XerXes]

I'm going to have to agree with Snipe on this one. It give the kitties across town a better player and in theory a better team (assuming he isn't the ball hogging, team destroyer some have made him out to be) but that's what will make it all the sweeter when we take them down on our home court.

Also the NCAA is about the most inconsistent agency across the board. 3 games here 20 game there vacating wins for something THEY screwed up on. Just crazy some of the things they do but not a lot can be done about it.

[Masterofreality]

I love hating the Bearcats,

Let's just ignore the man-love for all things in Bore-cat football. :D

[bearcat65]

Also, its not over. You can be sure the NCAA is watching him closely. So if Lance does anything stupid off the court, then the NCAA will be all over him. Or if the NCAA finds new evidence of him taking money from "Born Ready."

Regardless, he's eligible. It's good for everyone. I don't know if he can ever live up to the hype, but it should be a fun year for the Bearcats. If they don't make the NCAA with the talent they have, then Mick is fired.

I'm glad the kid can play. Kansas must be hating life right now haha, although they still have Xavier Henry - not a bad consolation prize

I agree he will be under the microscope. So far I think he has handled everything pretty well but that could well change once the games start. His eligibility will also put some pressure on Mick. Now that he has a full roster of his players and 2 of them were highly ranked he is not going to have anymore excuses for poor performance.

[_LH]

I agree he will be under the microscope. So far I think he has handled everything pretty well but that could well change once the games start. His eligibility will also put some pressure on Mick. Now that he has a full roster of his players and 2 of them were highly ranked he is not going to have anymore excuses for poor performance.

With LS now in the fold it is a make or break season for Cronin. If UC fails to make the NCAA's and UC then loses Lance and Vaughn, I think Cronin is fired.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Also, its not over. You can be sure the NCAA is watching him closely. So if Lance does anything stupid off the court, then the NCAA will be all over him. Or if the NCAA finds new evidence of him taking money from "Born Ready."

Regardless, he's eligible. It's good for everyone. I don't know if he can ever live up to the hype, but it should be a fun year for the Bearcats. If they don't make the NCAA with the talent they have, then Mick is fired.

I'm glad the kid can play. Kansas must be hating life right now haha, although they still have Xavier Henry - not a bad consolation prize

I doubt Kansas cares at all. They are the clear favorites to win it all and they got the better player of the two by most accounts.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

I doubt Kansas cares at all. They are the clear favorites to win it all and they got the better player of the two by most accounts.

Good point. I forgot how stacked they are....

The talent on that team is absolutely absurd.

On paper it should be UK vs Kansas for the championship.

[sirthought]

Everyone talks about how talented Stevenson is, but he didn't play all that well in his first game. He sat on the bench with foul trouble most of the time. Scored 9 points, though, in limited time. He's still a freshman that doesn't know the system very well yet. Their game was pretty sloppy overall.

It should be interesting if Cronin starts a veteran SF like Bishop, who might be the best defender on the team, or Stevenson who by Cronin's description is one of the best passers and scorers on the team already. They could probably start him at the point and it'd work better in many ways, except Wright and Parker would be pissed.