NEW YORK - Before we get into the latest buzz surrounding you-know-who, we need to keep in mind what this weekend brings: top-seeded Lincoln is set to battle super-rival Boys & Girls on Sunday, March 15 in the semifinals of the PSAL championship tournament.
Brooklyn's Jefferson and the Bronx's John F. Kennedy are also in the AA division's final four.
Lincoln beat the Boys, 64-54, back on Feb. 5 to claim Brooklyn AA regular-season crown and the top seed in Brooklyn's borough playoffs. The two met last year for the city crown, a year after Lincoln's win over Boys & Girls sparked a riot outside the Garden in 2007.
"We ain’t no losing team, we’re a good team," Stephenson told Five Boro Sports. "I feel very confident for the city championship.”
Lance Stephenson, Lincoln
Photo By Jim Redman
Lincoln, and Stephenson, aim to win an unprecedented fourth straight PSAL championship later this month when city crown is up for grabs on March 21 at Madison Square Garden.
You know Lance, right? He moved past Sebastian Telfair on Feb. 15, scoring 24 points to become the all-time leading scorer in New York State history in leading the Railsplitters to an 81-61 victory over Jefferson at Long Island University.
Stephenson broke Telfair's record of 2,785 points with a game-opening layup (Telfair also played at Lincoln, as did former Knicks drama queen Stephon Marbury). That's old news though -- Lance has his eyes on the prize, literally -- a fourth city title. Lincoln meets Boys & Girls at 5 p.m. on Saturday at St. John's. So let's get to it...
More Lance: Stephenson update and gossip
For all things Lance, New York City's biggest high school star, let's rewind and recap the latest buzz. To get you up to speed, Lance has decreed he will announce his college of choice after he [ideally] leads his Brooklyn team, the Lincoln Railsplitters, to the PSAL championship at Madison Square Garedn on March 21. The latest buzz:
- Former No. 1 overall pick Danny Manning, an assistant coach now at Kansas, dropped by a Lincoln practice last week to woo Stephenson, according to SNY's Adam Zagoria.
- Kansas is one of four schools in contention to land the Brooklyn phenom -- Maryland has already sent coach Gary Williams to visit (and Lance scored 50 points, no less), Wake Forest has apparently emerged as a contender, and locally, St. John's has long been rumored to be the destination of choice. A rep from Georgia Tech also just happened to be passing through Coney Island last week as well. It's nice this time of year.
- “It’s going to be a surprise,” Stephenson told the New York Daily News regarding his decision. "After [the championship], I’ll probably go in the back and sit down and have the hats there and pick up the hat and that’s the school I’m going to.”
- Stephenson declared he wants to be named MVP in the McDonald’s All-American Game on April 1 in Miami. He has to play in it first, of course. We should know what college he'll be at by then... hopefully.
- Stephenson has reportedly visited St. John's a bunch of times and said he'd love to continue playing at the Garden (where St. John's often plays... hint hint). The Knicks could probably use Lance about now (or a month ago) too.
- Out of play? USC and UCLA.
- Stephenson's teammate, 6-foot-8 James Padgett, has already committed to Maryland for next season.
- Stephenson dropped a game-high 28 points, picked up a dozen rebounds and added five assists as No. 1 Lincoln edged No. 9 Transit Tech, 86-80, in the quarterfinals at St. John’s on Monday, March 9. You can guess who watched -- St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts and several Red Storm players. Josh Lambert led Tech with 27 points in the loss.
CHSSA: Rice, Christ the King battle for crown
Manhattan's Rice will take on Queens' Christ the King on Sunday for the CHSSA AA championship at 3 p.m. at Fordham University's Rose Hill Gymnasium.
Rice, the top seed in the AA Manhattan division, is 21-3 overall this year and 9-2 in AA league play. Christ the King is 25-3 overall and 11-2 in the AA Brooklyn-Queens division.
Christ the King defeated Loughlin, 79-69, on Wednesday, March 11 at St. John's to advance. They'd previously thumped Holy Cross on March 5, 72-49.
Christ the King guard Sean Johnson was voted by the league coaches as the CHSAA Player of the Year this season.
“I’ve never seen anybody dominate a team like he does in every aspect in a while,” Royals coach Joe Arbitello told NYHoops.com. "He was incredible again, he’s our leader, If there’s a better player in the city, let me know.”
Apparently Arbitello hasn't seen Lance Stephenson's online TV show...
Rice knocked off All Hallows to advance on Wednesday with a 67-58 win at St. John's. The Raiders began their journey on March 6 after destroying Molloy, 96-64. Miami-bound Durand Scott scored in 25 points and had seven assists to top five Raiders in double figures in the win.
Around the Apple
The PSAL has a bracket going with updated scored and matchups, so give that a look.
- No. 4 Boys & Girls knocked off No. 12 Thomas Edison, 63-51, in the semis to set up their date with Lincoln. Michael Taylor led the Boys with 16 points and nine rebounds while Tyler Young scored 14 points and added 22 rebounds and seven blocks. Lamount Samuell chipped in 11 assists, nine rebounds and six points and Anton Dickerson finished with 13 points.
- No. 3 Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn) will face No. 2 John F. Kennedy (Bronx) on Sunday at 3 p.m. Jefferson knocked off Forest Hills (Queens), 70-59, at St. John's on March 7, while JFK edged McKee/Staten Island Tech, 85-81, to advanced.
Rank 'em
Rice was the lone New York team to make the latest MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings.
Rice (21-3) was ranked No. 10 nationally in Wednesday's ESPN Rise FAB 50 poll.
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), 24-3, was ranked No. 13 nationally by ESPN.
Of note, Jamesville-Dewitt (Dewitt, NY, 22-1) ranked No. 42 and Mount Vernon (Section 1, 20-3) ranked No. 43.
No New York teams made USA Today's latest Super 25 national poll.
The latest newyorksportswriters.org poll ranked Rice No. 5, Linocln No. 6, Christ the King No. 7 and Boys & Girls No. 15. Jefferson (21-10) came in No. 19.
Rice is ranked No. 1 in New York state by MaxPreps.
Jordan is Coming...
Lastly, don't forget to get your tickets now for the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday, April 18 at at Madison Square Garden! The tripleheader will feature some of NYC's best from St. Raymond's, Christ the King, Boys & Girls and more.
Danny Wild is a writer and photographer for MaxPreps and can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com.
