College Basketball Recruiting: Lance Stephenson Signs With Cincinnati

Lance Stephenson, the hyped high school basketball star, signs a financial aid agreement with the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday.

"We are very excited about Lance's decision to become a Bearcat," said Cincy head basketball coach Mick Cronin. "Lance has terrific talent as a basketball player, and is also a fierce competitor on the court. His desire to win will help us compete for a BIG EAST Championship."

Stephenson has been ranked amongst the top of his class since he was in middle school. He finished his senior season averaging 28.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists to earn Class AA New York State Sports Writers Association (NYSSWA) Player of the Year honors. He was named to the 2009 McDonald’s All-American Team, PARADE All-American Team and the USA Today All-USA Team.

Stephenson graduated high school as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the state of New York with 2,946 points, passing fellow Lincoln High grad Sebastian Telfair, who was the 13th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Stephenson also is the first player in New York City history to win four consecutive PSAL championships.

Stephenson’s recruitment was not a smooth one. In March, he listed Maryland, St. John's, Memphis and Kansas as his top schools. He was set to announce his college decision at the McDonald's All-American game on March 31, but decided against it.

The very next day, Memphis head coach John Calipari left the Tigers for Kentucky and Memphis commit Xavier Henry, the nation's top shooting guard, relinquished his letter-of-intent and commit to the Jayhawks soon thereafter.

Henry's commitment dropped Kansas from Stephenson's list, but Memphis remained. However, Maryland and St. John's were eliminated as well, for no public reasons. Arizona then got into the picture last month with the hiring of Xavier coach Sean Miller.

Stephenson is ranked No. 11 in the class of 2009. He is expected to be one of college basketball's best freshmen next season.

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