Show Time For Born Ready !

Time for Lincoln phenom Lance Stephenson to come of age
BY M. LELINWALLA


Saturday, August 30th 2008, 2:05 PM


Pace for News

Lance Stephenson is in his final year at Lincoln with attitude adjustments to make and major decisions ahead of him.

Goldfield for News

Stephenson guards Dominic Cheek in Elite 24 game at legendary Rucker Park earlier this month.
Hobbled by a pulled groin, Lance Stephenson took one look at the overflowing crowd at the fabled Rucker Park at 155th St. and Park Ave. and made a game-time decision: He wanted to play.

A few seconds later, Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony in Jersey City dribbled down the court and banked in a long three-pointer right in Stephenson's face.

The crowd roared, and Stephenson - the latest New York city schoolboy phenom from Lincoln High - snapped, a scowl written across his face.

Stephenson, the king of New York's high school basketball scene and one of the nation's top recruits in the Class of 2009, immediately demanded the ball from a teammate and called for a 1-on-1 clear-out possession against Cheek.

The Rucker crowd rose to its feet and belted out its traditional, "Yeeeeeaaaaahhhh" mantra, egging on the 17-year-old kid from Coney Island it calls "Born Ready."

The chiseled 6-5, 200-pound Stephenson crossed Cheek over twice, spun in the lane and hit a layup while getting fouled. He pumped his fist and screamed, sending the crowd into hysteria loud enough to awake the tenants in the Polo Grounds Apartments across the street.

For good measure, his father, Lance Stephenson Sr., held up a "10" scorecard that had been handed out during the dunk contest before the third annual "Elite 24," which invites two dozen of the country's best high school hoops stars for a fast break fireworks display - streetball style.

And in that instant, Stephenson was back where he belonged - dominating the game and turning yet another crowd into putty in his hands. Once again, he was The Man.

That Aug. 22 moment served as redemption for the most unusual summer of Stephenson's life, a summer in which he had to learn that you can't always be the man.

On July 9, Stephenson was cut from the U.S. under-18 national team, with reverberations of the news setting off questions about the Lincoln star throughout the country.

Why was he cut?

"Lance is a tremendous basketball player," U.S. coach Bob McKillop told the Daily News at the time of the cut. "The question is what was happening with those other four guys on the court, when Lance is on the court? Five percent of the game is played with the ball in your hands. The other 95% is played without the ball in your hands. Lance had to work on that. We try to implement the team concept of passing more than dribbling. That was something other players got better and better at. It was a very difficult decision."

Stephenson was shocked.

"When I got cut, I was just told I wasn't what they were looking for, I wasn't a good fit," Stephenson says. "But to find out that they thought I'm a selfish player . . . I don't think I'm a selfish player. I don't think I have to score to win the game. I think I worked hard. I tried my best to make the team. I think I wasn't (McKillop's) fit. I take it as a learning experience and try to get better."