Weekend wrap — Stephenson, Barton and more
While Lance Stephenson prepares to play in a charity game Thursday, his recruitment continues to drag on with seemingly no end in sight.
The Washington Post’s Steve Yanda took an extensive look at Stephenson’s recruitment, including how BornReady.tv could create eligibility issues with the NCAA.
According to compliance officers from multiple athletic programs, a school likely will look into any prospective athlete's affiliation with a Web site to determine whether the relationship produced compensation for the athlete or his family, whether a third party like an agent or financial adviser was involved and what prompted the company producing the Web site to form the relationship in the first place.
• Will Barton had another big weekend on the court. The Lake Clifton shooting guard attended the Pangos All-American camp in Long Beach, Calif., scoring 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting in the top 25 game. Rivals.com’s Jerry Meyer had this to say about Barton’s play over the weekend.
The wiry shooting guard is establishing himself as one of the best scorers in the class. Name a way to score, and Barton probably got the ball in the bucket that way during the first session. Barton, also, delivered some impressive passes off the dribble. There is a sense of passion and flair in his game that is enjoyable to watch. He does need to put on weight primarily for the defensive end, but his length for his position serves him well.
• The Terps remain on Long Island, N.Y., power forward Tobias Harris’ 11-team list, according to the The [Louisville, Ky.] Courier-Journal.
Harris, who made an unofficial visit to Louisville last spring, has cut his list to the Cardinals, Rutgers, Syracuse, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech and Maryland.
He'll make unofficial visits to Tennessee and Georgia Tech this week and hopes to narrow his list by the end of July.
• Oak Hill point guard Pe’Shon Howard has Maryland under serious consideration, according to Rivals.com.
Pe'Shon Howard listed Maryland, Stanford, Arizona, Arkansas and Virginia Tech as his top five schools. Alabama, Xavier and Virginia are also on his list.
Comments
Move away from Stephenson and save the scholly for next year's class. This guy (Stephenson) is a cancer and no matter what he may do on the court it is not worth the chance.
Sounds like UMD effort on the 2010 class is a strong one but we still need a couple more big time recruits like a Barton, Smith, Jones, Irving, Harris, Howard or Parker for me to be convinced. UMD is getting their fair share of ink though recently in Rivals from some top flight recruits which is a postive. Bring it home now guys! In the next couple weeks I believe someone big is going to committ...just a hunch.
Posted by: Rob | June 1, 2009 11:28 AM
I'm just waiting for the story that has Stephenson playing next year in Europe. This guy is such a joke!
Posted by: Mike | June 1, 2009 2:22 PM
as much as i hate to say this... a few big games and all the drawn out theatrics and tension will be long forgotten come regular season. this is a sad situation and it drags the terrapin name in just a bit of mud and detracts from the programs successes. but let's be honest, this is a once in a decade weird situation for any university. -i like the signings so far. i think we are one big away from a coup. let's wait and see how this 'stephenson scenario' pans out.
Posted by: space | June 1, 2009 2:40 PM
Save us Born Ready!
Posted by: CleptoManiak | June 1, 2009 4:28 PM
Matt- The Lance Article was the HEAD story on Yahoo.com. lol. Anyway, why does Vasquez staying or going have anything to do with Lance? The Terps have a scholarship open right? After dupree transfered. Who are they looking at if Lance does not come here?
I am one of the ones that prays that Vasquez leaves. I just think that now that they have some bigs, they don't want a ball hawk. They need a true point gaurd to distribute, and let Mosley be the slasher. LS is soooo much more consistent than GV.
Posted by: Ryan | June 2, 2009 6:04 AM
Ryan,
Born Ready is supposedly a point guard, if GV stays then BR won't get as much PT as he thinks he deserves, that's what it has to do with BR.
This basket case and potential NCAA violation known as Born Ready is not the answer, it's best if we save the scholarship for 2010 when there is a lot talent with less drama.
As far as your ridiculous comment at the end of your post, I believe you mean ball hog, every team would love to have several ball hawks....Defense wins championships and poor use of metaphors shows ignorance.
Posted by: John | June 2, 2009 11:46 PM
John- Oh, I didn't know you and Lance were buddies.
What are guys doing this week?
And, you can say Hawk or Hog.
When Lance gets to town, cuz you guys are obviously buddies, call me, maybe we'll hand out.
Look up the definition of a metaphor. Ask Lance what it is when you see him this weekend.
And Lance is projected as a 2.
I'm sure his race has nothing to do with all you comments. Truth is, you probably know NOTHING about the kid. Just like yahoo said, there is nothing but hearsay. Ofcourse the kid my be a little cocky. He is the top SG out there. But.....GV isn't cocky? At least Lance can back it up.
Posted by: Ryan | June 3, 2009 11:32 PM
Matt,
I see Barton's status in Rivals has changed with Kentucky being "High" and "MD" being low on the interest scale. Looks like Barton is going to play for that snake in the grass. If so, sad to see him go. What if anything do you know about it? Also has Roscoe Smith shortened his list yet and are we on it? We have an offer to Irving which makes me think there is some strong interest on his part. I could see him going to MD from NJ since in general we seem to attract players from that region, espicially in football. Seems to be just far enough away yet close enough to home. If we land him I could see Stoglin pulling out of his committment. Same thing with a possible Howard signing.
Thanks Matt.
Posted by: Rob | June 4, 2009 4:36 PM
Rob -- I wouldn't pay much attention to interest levels on the Rivals and Scout sites. They aren't updated all that frequently. Still, it's clear that Barton really likes Kentucky. His list is still long, though, so I think it's too early to count the Terps out. Roscoe hasn't shortened his list, at least to my knowledge. I'm trying to get in touch with his camp. I think Irving's probably a longshot. With Stoglin in the fold, I don't think UM will push all that hard for Howard.
Posted by: Matt Bracken | June 4, 2009 7:05 PM