2010 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Lance Stephenson

Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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2010 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Lance Stephenson

Position: Shooting Guard

Size: 6-5, 210

School: Cincinnati, Freshman

Strengths:

Has a natural feel for scoring the basketball

Can break a defender down off the dribble

Quick first step

Deadly change of pace dribble

Strong finisher

NBA-ready build

Knows how to use his strength when attacking the basket

Great play-making abilities

Good rebounder for a wing player

Weaknesses:

Shot selection is questionable at times

Very inconsistent from beyond the arc

Needs to make more of a commitment on the defensive end

Dribbles too much in one-on-one situations

Tends to gets rattled if things aren’t going his way during the course of a game

Stands around too much on offense if the ball isn’t in his hands

Free-throw shooting

Summary: Nicknamed “Born Ready,” Stephenson failed to live up to the lofty expectations put on him when he arrived at Cincy. Early in the season, I had him as a late-lottery pick based on his natural ability and potential, but he just didn’t put it all together in his freshman year as he still has plenty of maturing to do both mentally and as a player. He is reportedly leaning toward returning to school and that would be the wise decision since he would have no guarantee of being a first-round pick.

Player Comparison: Isaiah Rider Rider was a tremendous natural talent who just never truly panned up in the NBA. Stephenson is loaded with natural ability and like Rider, uses it like a switch where he can seemingly turn his game “on” or “off” in the blink of the eye. Three-point shooting was never a strength of Rider’s and it’s something Stephenson needs to work on before he takes the step to the next level.

RELATED LINKS:

2010 NBA Mock Draft

2010 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings

2010 NBA Draft Scouting Reports

Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]

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