Lance Stephenson has drawn a fair amount of criticism this year by fans who say he didn't live up to his expectations. While he has been incosistent and not the impact freshman like John Wall or Xavier Henry, he certainly hasn't been bad.
Which is something we should be reminded of as he was named to the Big East All-Rookie team on Sunday. There is also a pretty good chance he will be named the Rookie of the Year in the conference on Tuesday.
Stephenson finishes the regular season with an average of 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals a game.
Take a look at the numbers of a couple other freshman seasons from the past:
Derrick Rose, Memphis: 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists.
Kyle Singler, Duke: 14.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Greg Monroe, Georgetown: 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists
Evan Turner, Ohio State: 8.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists
Stephenson's numbers are not quite there with the tops of this list, but are not that far off. And all of these players ended up being the leaders on their teams and looked upon as legit stars. So before anybody starts criticizing Stephenson, note that he is not far at all from being a legit superstar.
It's tough living up to the "Born Ready" expectations, but you have to expect more consistency out of Stephenson next year and if you can get 25 percent less off games and 10 percent more games like the 23-point show he put on Saturday against Georgetown, the Bearcats will have the dominant leader and scorer they crave.
Here is the release from Bearcats athletics:
Stephenson Named to BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
Brooklyn, N.Y. native becomes third Bearcat to earn the honor since joining the league
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - University of Cincinnati freshman guard Lance Stephenson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Lincoln) was one of two unanimous selections to the 2010 BIG EAST Conference All-Rookie team, the league office announced.
Stephenson becomes the third Bearcat to earn the distinction since UC began play in the BIG EAST in 2005-06, joining teammates Deonta Vaughn (2006-07) and Yancy Gates (2008-09).
The preseason BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, Stephenson led all BIG EAST freshmen in scoring in overall (12.0 ppg) and conference-only games (12.1 ppg). He also finished in the Top 5 overall in rebounds (5.3 rpg/4th), steals (1.0 spg/5th), and assists (2.4 apg/4th).
Four times this season, the 6-foot-5 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, the most by any incoming player. Stephenson won the award the last two weeks of the regular season after averaging 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game over UC's last four contests. He also added 11 assists and five steals during the stretch.
Stephenson, along with the other four all-Rookie team selections (Alex Oriakhi, UConn; Vincent Council, Providence; Dane Miller, Rutgers; Brandon Triche, Syracuse; Maalik Wayns, Villanova), are candidates for BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. The Rookie of the Year honor will be announced Tuesday, March 9, between sessions at the BIG EAST Championship Presented by New York Life, along with Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, and BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete.
The Cincinnati Bearcats (16-14, 7-11 BIG EAST), the No. 11-seed in the BIG EAST Championship, open postseason play vs. Rutgers (15-16, 5-13 BIG EAST), the No. 14 seed, in the first round of the league tournament on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST at Madison Square Garden. The game will be aired nationally on ESPNU.
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