St. John's hoping to be Born again
Landing Lance Stephenson could revive fledgling program
By Adam Zagoria / SNY.tv
Lance Stephenson said he will focus on the upcoming high school season before making his college decision. (AP)
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The biggest star at the St. John's basketball Midnight Madness event Thursday wasn't Anthony Mason Jr., Justin Burrell or even head coach Norm Roberts.
No, the most honored guest at the 2008 Red Storm Tip-Off was a 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior guard from Lincoln High School on Coney Island who some think could transform the program simply by committing there.
Lance Stephenson, known by the moniker "Born Ready," also the title of an Internet documentary detailing his life story and available at BornReady.tv, attended the event with his parents, Lance Sr. and Bern.
Despite imminent rain, several hundred fans also joined the festivities, which included a free BBQ, speeches by Roberts and women's head coach Kim Barnes Arrico and scrimmages by both teams.
Stephenson, a tremendously strong and athletic top-10 recruit out of the same high school that produced Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, is considering St. John's, along with a few other schools. Kansas, USC, Texas and Memphis are also on his list.
He says he won't announce his choice until the spring signing period in April.
"Right now, I'm just worrying about basketball and at the end I'll do all that college stuff," Stephenson, ranked No. 4 among shooting guards in the Class of 2009, 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."
More and more, though, it looks like he could well end up at St. John's, serving as the biggest recruit of a Roberts Era which has been marked by mediocrity as the program attempts to lift itself out of the probation triggered under Mike Jarvis.
"I think they're going to have a very good shot at him," said recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski, who is close to the Stephenson family.
Konchalski knows as well as anyone that Stephenson brings some baggage. His body language and attitude sometimes reflect negatively on teammates and coaches.
This summer he was cut from the USA U-18 National team despite being the most talented player at the tryouts. He was cut after repeated clashes with head coach Bob McKillop, the Davidson coach, yet both Lance and his father later said they were never told explicitly why he was let go, and that McKillop told Lance what a talented player he was.
Still, St. John's needs Lance Stephenson perhaps more than it has ever needed a recruit.
There was a time when St. John's was a national basketball powerhouse that would regularly draw the top players from all five boroughs.
In the early 1980s, Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry led the Red Men (as they were then known) to the 1985 NCAA Final Four, one of three Big East teams that made the trip. Mullin won the Wooden Award in '85 and Berry captured it a year later.
Later, the late Malik Sealy dazzled crowds at Madison Square Garden and Carnesecca Arena.
Those days are long past, and St. John's, along with Rutgers and Seton Hall, have been relegated to the lower division of the now monstrous 16-team Big East -- with a long climb ahead of them.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon and now West Virginia's Bob Huggins routinely come into New York City and pull away the Big Apple's top talent. With several trips a year back to New York and New Jersey for conference games, plus the promise of the Big East tournament every March at the Garden, every local kid knows he'll play near home no matter what school he attends.
Roberts, who signed a five-year extension in May after an 11-19 season, knows this better than anybody. And he knows he must start landing local talent.
The Red Storm have already secured a verbal commitment from Omari Lawrence, a 6-4 senior shooting guard from the Bronx now playing at South Kent, a prep school in Connecticut.
"I think you always want to get the highest quality player that you can get," Roberts told me this summer. "There are some locally that aren't too far away that of course you'd want to have them, and we'd love to add someone like that to our program.
"That could be the person that helps get you over the top."
Lance Stephenson is likely to only be on campus for a year before heading off to the riches of the NBA. Some NBA coaches and players have already pronounced him physically ready for the league.
Yet for that one year, he could help stir excitement around the program and draw fans to the Garden.
He plays some of his best ball there.
This spring he dropped 27 points at the Garden when Lincoln routed rival Boys & Girls, 88-57, to win its third straight public school title.
"I was so hyped before the game, I just wanted to get out there and destroy them, and get the game over with so my other teammates can see how the court feels," Stephenson said that night.
"I got chills. We all got chills," Lincoln coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton told reporters. "It was the second coming to Sebastian. Too bad he can't go straight from high school [to the pros]."
No, he can't, although he has mentioned the possibility of playing overseas, following the trailblazing path set by onetime Arizona commit Brandon Jennings, who recently signed a three-year, multimillion dollar deal to play in Italy.
Some think Stephenson will take the money and run. Others find it hard to imagine a Coney Island kid going to Europe.
Which brings us back to St. John's. Kansas coach Bill Self and USC coach Tim Floyd recruited Stephenson this summer in Las Vegas, but Roberts is working hard. He recently had an in-home visit with the family.
The Red Storm fans know all about it and are agog with excitement at the chance of "Born Ready" playing for the Johnnies.
"As a St. John's fan and season ticket holder, I think his committing to St. John's is a huge win for both parties involved," Bob Gunther, a longtime St. John's fan, wrote in an email. "For Lance's benefit, Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden will be packed to the rafters to see this top-rated phenomenon play... right in our backyard. And most likely televised on SNY!
"Since 'Born Ready' is projected to be a one-and-done by most, where better to showcase his talent than at St. John's, playing in the toughest conference, the Big East; playing in New York City at the World's Most Famous Arena. It doesn't get much better than that!
"New York, the media capital of the world. New York, home to the NBA Headquarters. Imagine the number of scouts and team executives who would be sitting at the Garden for every St. John's game watching and wishing."
Yes, imagine. It could happen sooner than you think. And it might turn out to be "Born Ready"'s best move.
Adam Zagoria is a regular contributor to SNY.tv. Read his blog at ZagsBlog.net.