The rumors started swirling over the weekend that Lance Stephenson, the ultra-talented guard out of New York, was visiting and would commit to Cincinnati. Tuesday, the news broke and was confirmed elsewhere that Stephenson is indeed committing to the Bearcats. Whether official word will come before or after his July 15 court date regarding his misdemeanor sexual assault charge is undetermined.While teams have been scared off from recruiting Stephenson for plenty of reasons (the sexual assault, meddling father, attitude questions, academics, NCAA eligibility relating to an online documentary on Stephenson), Cincy coach Mick Cronin seems willing to take a chance on Stephenson -- assuming the NCAA clears him to play.
There's actually a decent argument to be made for Cincy to take a chance on Stephenson. At this point he would be a bonus to the team, so if the NCAA does not clear him to play they really do not risk anything. You would have to think that Stephenson would be somewhat chastened by the way teams have chosen to run screaming from him in the last two months, that he will be more inclined to behave and be part of the team. Maybe even a little coach-able. Add in the fact that Cincy has a good amount of talent in place and even without Stephenson was considered a dark-horse contender in the Big East for the upcoming season, and his addition becomes very attractive.
Even if he keeps his nose clean, is a good teammate and actually listens to the coach there is one other problem. The one thing that makes this extremely risky -- perhaps even dumb -- for Cincy is the academics. Specifically, Stephenson's impact on the basketball team's Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Following years of poor graduation rates under Bob Huggins and then mass transfers and players being kicked off the team after Huggins was fired, plus a year with an interim coach that led to more problems, well, the basketball program found itself staring at a dismal 838 APR score and lots of scholarship penalties in 2005. The program has been able to avoid the penalties by arguing extenuating circumstances with the coaching turmoil. The NCAA has granted them waivers over the last few years.
They have managed to raise the multi-year significantly and so they have still avoided penalties. That said, the Bearcats still have an APR of 902 for men's basketball in the latest report (PDF). That is well below the minimum required score of 925 -- which roughly correlates to a 60 percent graduation rate.
Lance Stephenson puts all of that at risk. Stephenson is a lock to be a one-and-done player. He would have been in the NBA Draft out of high school, but for the NBA age requirement. He is going to college for a year because he has to, not because he wants to. The odds of him actually finishing his classes in his second semester at Cincy seem only slightly higher than the odds of Megan Fox showing up on my doorstep covered in nothing but whipped cream.
That would be a big step back for the basketball program, and likely the end of any waivers from the NCAA for their below average APR. Not only would scholarships be at risk, but starting in 2009 the penalties for a poor APR can also include postseason bans.
Cincy has not been to the NCAA Tournament since firing Huggins. They have taken a huge tumble in national recognition. They have had little success since joining the Big East. Understandably, there is a significant desire to get things turned around. The team is poised to be making a move this year, without Stephenson
Is one year of Lance Stephenson worth all that?
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
It is beyond stupid(except for the ncaa) to penalize a school because a player goes to the NBA! But what else would I expect from a bunch of hypocrites who run the ncaa.