Lance to Visit USC, Kansas; Turning Recruiting on its Head

Lance Stephenson Sr. says he is turning the recruiting process on its head.

Instead of waiting for schools to contact him and his son, highly talented 6-5 guard Lance Stephenson out of Brooklyn's Lincoln High, Lance Sr. has begun to contact coaches directly.

"I basically turned this around and instead of letting schools recruit us," Lance Sr. said, "we are going to recruit schools. I'm not going to sit back and wait for schools to give us a call."

Lance took an unofficial visit to Indiana this past weekend (more on this below) and has also visited Seton Hall unofficially. Next up is a trip to Southern California, home of the O.J. Mayo elbow-to-jaw incident, in early November. After that, the Stephensons plan to visit Kansas. Future trips to North Carolina and Georgetown are also in the works.

"I've been going through all the top programs in the country," Lance Sr. said. "USC is the next school in line that we're going to check out. I've been talking with Coach (Tim) Floyd and he's been giving me a lot of information about what they're trying to do.

"One thing we're looking for is a place (different) from New York City. The approach going toward college is to find a nice place that's excited about basketball but at the same time that's cozy and secluded which is going to be tough to find.

"I know USC doesn't really fit that bill because it's another big city. I'm talking with him to see if their situation is different where they can keep everybody away from Lance and he can just concentrate on playing ball. We're looking to visit sometime around Nov. 3. That's Lance's last free weekend. We're going to use that time to check out USC."

Lance Sr. said he's also in talks with Kansas coach Bill Self, who is currently involved with Quintrell Thomas of St. Patrick; Tyshawn Taylor of St. Anthony; and Marcus and Markieff Morris of Apex Academies in Pennsauken, N.J.

"We definitely plan to visit Kansas," he said. "Coach Self talked about how secluded it is, and how the college rules the town."

Lance Sr. said he also wants to get to see both North Carolina and Georgetown.

"Going down the line, Georgetown is definitely a school that I want Lance to check out," he said. "And of course, North Carolina. That was a school that he talked about as a youngster."

Lance Sr. said Indiana and Seton Hall were still in the mix, despite the recent penalties levied against Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson.

"We have a pretty good relationship with Coach Sampson and I would like to continue to develop it and I would like him to continue to develop his relationship with Lance," he said.

"Indiana is a great institution, especially for basketball, and when you combine the two with the fans they have there. The arena is beautiful. Whether Coach Sampson is there or not, that would definitely be a place that we would consider sending Lance."

Lance Sr. also elaborated a bit on the documentary film in the works about his son's life, tentatively titled "The Born Ready Story." The crew plans to follow Lance through 2010 and potentially release episodes on the Internet and/or on an ESPN or MTV. The story follows Lance on and off the basketball court, including family get-togethers, basketball events, interviews and day-to-day life.

"I think it's an interesting story just to see a kid whose dream is to play professional basketball someday," he said.

Lance Sr. said his family had learned valuable lessons from both the Marbury and Telfair families about the recruiting process and was hoping to forge its own path. A documentary on Sebastian Telfair, "Through the Fire," was shown on ESPN.

"We all come from the same environment (in Coney Island)," he said. "The way I handle Lance has actually come from watching the Marburys."

Lance Sr. said his agreement with the filmmakers includes a provision that the family can call it off any time if they so choose.

"This is strictly for the love of basketball," he said. "We have no financial gain out of this."

Comments

[lee spivey]

Who is playing basketball? The father or son? Seems to me dad is telling him where to go . He is trying to lives his dream out of his son. Wake up man. Let your son choise his 4 yrs where he wants to go . I pop want to go to collage , go but where your son go should be his choise.

[JB]

Lee, I couldnt disagree more. It's nice to see someone with a father figure as involved in the process as Mr. Stephenson. Jr. should feel very fortunate.

And 4yrs? Try 1 pal.

AZ, great piece on Stephenson...

Jordan Brett

[Paata Stanley]

The thing that is never discussed regarding selecting a school is the network they have players after their career is over. So many school support these players while they are playing for the university. However after they leave school, the relationship and all the player did for the school is forgotten. If you study the growth on UNC & Georgetown players after they stop playing ball. You will see a pattern of success with these players. Either in coaching , media, or the business world. Young players need to pay attention to this and select a school that will set them up life. Lance is in a beautiful position right now, use the ball don't let it use YOU.

[kathy]

I'm sure his boy is just a stellar intellectual; it shows in the genes! Listen up, twit! A quick internet search will reveal that Matt Leinart's daddy had to buy Matt a downtown apartment in the city cuz he was supposedly being pestered on campus! If you want seclusion, L.A. and USC is not for you! What a fool....

[tigerbham]

Adam-

Do you think Memphis still has a good bit of involvement with Stephenson? I read a comment before from you that you believed that Lance would end up somewhere like Memphis, but this blog doesn't seem to reflect that anymore.

Am I correct in my assumption that it appears that Memphis has lost ground with Stephenson?

[Adam Z.]

Tiger:

I think it's still too early to say anyone has lost ground. Lance Sr. sounds like he's feeling schools out, and USC and Kansas are on tap, with UNC and G'town planned for the future. We didn't really mention Memphis, but it sounds like he'll be contacting several top programs, and I would imagine Memphis would be involved. Then again, he didn't mention them as a priority right now...