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Pacers' Stephenson could be special, or a headache By Mike Wells

The Indiana Pacers are giving Stephenson, their second-round pick, a chance.

But there's a stipulation that comes with it. Stephenson has to be a model citizen because the Pacers will be watching him closely.

Stephenson appeared to be an eventual sure-fire lottery pick coming out of high school as New York City's all-time leading scorer, but character issues on and off the court turned off some people.

"Lance is a tremendous basketball player," Davidson coach Bob McKillop told the New York Daily News about cutting Stephenson from Team USA.

"Whoever said I have a bad attitude really doesn't know me," Stephenson said Thursday. "I'm definitely a coachable player. That's not me.

Full article here:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100702/SPORTS04/7020329/1088/SPORTS04/Pacers-Stephenson-could-be-special-or-a-headache

I hope the kid can get it together. Im just real worried that he is going to be a bad attitude ball hog in the NBA. I hope Im wrong, because if I am we could have a talented kid on our hands.

Well I heard that he did, in some ways, have a very humbling season at Cincy. Fact is, for a guy who was so highly touted, to fall to 40th pick might make him step back and say, 'whoa......' Then again, he didn't stay in college, which would have been the smart, mature thing to do. He probably still doesn't get why he dropped.

And keep in mind, he's young. He's still got room to grow as a person. that's actually why he should have stayed in school, more chance for personal development. entering the nba, he might get money, and start believing he's just the best thing ever. Overinflated sense of superiority.


We'll see. I think it might be good for him to have a 10 mpg backup role. Show him that we value him, but not let his ego get too big. be ready to bench him for a month if need be.

i would be surprised if hes on the bench this season. more likely than not its the d league for a few years.

I like how we went w/ two guys that could be a long term solution at SG for us. Gives us a better chance of getting the player we need.

This is a kid that was a star very young albeit in a small world. That would be hard for anyone to deal with. I heard a radio interviewer ask him how in the NBA game he was most like and he said Dwayne Wade. He's thinking big. He sees himself with the ball in his hands making plays. Learning to make plays for others will take time. He says the right things. I suspect this week may be his first time playing on a squad with people as good or better than he is. If he can adjust to that and become a team first player, he'll be special.

greenway84 wrote:i would be surprised if hes on the bench this season. more likely than not its the d league for a few years.

That's ridiculous. No way he goes to the D-League. I see him getting Luther Head type minutes this season.

^
True. plus he can play 1, 2, or 3. Luther was a 2 in a 1's body.

Luther was effective when he got minutes. He could be streaky but also opened up offense for other players. Remember when he put up 30 on Miami last season. I'd much rather get Head then resign Watson.

I'm excited about Stephenson. I agree with the headline here that he could be special or a headache. I like the idea of giving him PG minutes as well. He's got a great handle and can get to the rim. I don't know about the Dwyane Wade comparison, but I looked the other day and his combine numbers are very comparable to Tyreke Evans and I don't see why he couldn't be that kind of player. I don't think Evans is a true point either, but he can bring the ball up against pressure and attack the basket.

The things I've read about Stephenson all commented on his passing ability being surprisingly good, but his decision making being poor. One of his Draftexpress comments said something about his attempting passes even Steve Nash couldn't complete. I prefer that to not making the pass though so I'm willing to deal with growing pains. The kid is 19. I've been watching all his interviews from the various workouts and he was always talking about wanting to show people that he could play defense. It's 100% likely that this is what his agent told him to say, but the fact that he can take instruction from his agent and stick to the script gives me hope that he can listen to a coach too...right?

I'm happy that we grabbed two guys in the draft that can create their own shot. We've needed that for a long time.

Indy2thaWindy wrote:Luther was effective when he got minutes. He could be streaky but also opened up offense for other players. Remember when he put up 30 on Miami last season. I'd much rather get Head then resign Watson.

HAHAHAAH who wouldn't?

Don't Know? Somebody probly is, but it's their loss, not mine.

granger05 wrote:I'm excited about Stephenson. I agree with the headline here that he could be special or a headache. I like the idea of giving him PG minutes as well. He's got a great handle and can get to the rim. I don't know about the Dwyane Wade comparison, but I looked the other day and his combine numbers are very comparable to Tyreke Evans and I don't see why he couldn't be that kind of player. I don't think Evans is a true point either, but he can bring the ball up against pressure and attack the basket.

The things I've read about Stephenson all commented on his passing ability being surprisingly good, but his decision making being poor. One of his Draftexpress comments said something about his attempting passes even Steve Nash couldn't complete. I prefer that to not making the pass though so I'm willing to deal with growing pains. The kid is 19. I've been watching all his interviews from the various workouts and he was always talking about wanting to show people that he could play defense. It's 100% likely that this is what his agent told him to say, but the fact that he can take instruction from his agent and stick to the script gives me hope that he can listen to a coach too...right?

I'm happy that we grabbed two guys in the draft that can create their own shot. We've needed that for a long time.

Paul George isn't gonna create his own shot that is why we need a Point guard or stephenson to surprise everybody. Every one compares George to McGrady but George can't really handle the ball so he'll have to develop that. If Stevenson and George play together and with Danny I see that as being the Best PG, SG, and SF combo Pacers have. The thing Roy can do most Centers can't is create shots for others players. So George playing with Roy will help him out too.