"Born Ready" visits Maryland

Five-star recruit Lance Stephenson was in attendance during Maryland's 73-68 victory over the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday night. Stephenson is a 6'6" combo guard/forward from Lincoln, New York and is high school teammates with Maryland-bound center James Padgett.

After lots of conversation about Gary Williams recruiting tactics, he was able to successfully lure Stephenson to College Park to take his first official recruiting visit.

Stephenson from the outside looks like a phenomenal prospect. He has superb size for his position and is extremely athletic. He loves to attack the basket and is known for his toughness. Rated as one of the highest prospects in the nation, Stephenson would rejuvenate the Terrapin basketball program quickly.

He is 7th overall on Scout.com, 9th on Rivals.com, and 8th on ESPN.com. Many "experts" are penciling him in for the 2010 NBA Draft already.

The recruitment of "Born Ready" brings up two important questions for Maryland and coach Williams.

The first would be about whether or not Williams is becoming desperate or not. Stephenson is an amazing prospect, but he has a checkered background that should raise some questions. In the past, Williams would not continue recruiting a player with that past.

In early October, Stephenson was charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year old girl at his own school. While the charges and implications have not been made clear since then, his recruitment has taken a hit.

The other important question about his recruitment is about his impact on the roster. Currently, Maryland has two commits for 2009, and has one senior graduating: Dave Neal. With those changes, Maryland will have the NCAA maximum 13 scholarship players. Maybe Gary is hoping Vazquez will go pro, or someone will transfer.

Furthermore, Stephenson plays guard/forward, a position where the Terp's have considerable depth. If he were to go to Maryland, I would assume that Stephenson would be a starter, but how?

At guard Maryland currently has Greivis Vazquez, Eric Hayes, Adrian Bowie, Sean Mosely, and Cliff Tucker. With all of those players back next year, who will be riding the pine?

As a Maryland fan, it would be great to see Williams snag a recruit like Stephenson, because it would bring in lots of media attention from across the country. What I do not know, is how he fits in with this team.