Lance Stephenson is known to those in New York as "Born Ready."

But his Cincinnati teammate, Deonta Vaughn, has dubbed him something else.

"Almost There."

"He thinks it's funny. It's a sign that Lance is just one of the guys here," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "The guys get on him and joke around with him. He's never really been able to just be one of the guys before."

That's true. Stephenson grew up as the Next Big Thing coming out of New York, following in the footsteps of overhyped guys like Lenny Cooke and Sebastian Telfair.

His recruitment became a complete mess, but eventually Cronin and the Bearcats landed the talented, yet enigmatic 6-foot-5 scoring guard out of Brooklyn.

So far, Cronin has nothing but praise for Stephenson, who still hasn't officially been cleared by the NCAA to play in games due to amateurism concerns.

"The communication between our office and the NCAA has been great," Cronin said. "We're working on it in a timely fashion, and it looks like it'll happen before the season starts and that's all you can ask."

While Stephenson is clearly the most high-profile name on the roster, Cronin is hoping he's the final piece needed to get the Bearcats back into the NCAA tournament.

Vaughn (15.3 ppg, 4.7 apg) has established himself as one of the top guards in the Big East, and Cronin believes he won't have to do it all himself as he was forced to do a year ago when he had to run his high school team.

Cashmere Wright, who Cronin expected to play the point as a freshman a year ago, is 100 percent after missing all of last season due to injury and should allow Vaughn to play off the ball.

Cronin has talent and options up front as well. Yancy Gates put up 10.6 points and 6.1 boards as a freshman, and Oklahoma State transfer Ibrahima Thomas, a skilled 6-foot-11 forward who has gained about 20 pounds and is up to 245, could make his way into the starting lineup when he becomes eligible after the first semester.

"We're going to have depth," Cronin said. "And we're not going to have to play up anymore."

What Cronin means by not having to "play up" is that he'll finally have the talent and bodies that he won't be overmatched on most nights in the Big East.

School began on Sept. 15, so Cronin has only had a few weeks to work with Stephenson on the court.

"So far he looks like the other freshmen," Cronin said, "only he's more talented than the rest of them. The thing you can tell is that he loves basketball and can't get enough of it. He's a New York City guy."

"There's no quit in him," he added. "He's a fighter."

Cronin has dealt with a few highly touted guys in the past when he was as a coach under Bob Huggins at Cincinnati. He recruited DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield, a pair of McDonald's All-Americans.

"No matter how talented a guy he is and how much is written about him, you've got to remember he's still just a kid," Cronin said of Stephenson. "People put this halo over his head, and you've just got to take it off. I'm going to take it off."

So far, Cronin said his prized recruit hasn't been late for a cl****, workout or team meeting.

"He wants everyone to know he's really a good kid," Cronin said. "He wants people to respect and to like him."

Cronin said Stephenson will have no shortage of adjustments – among them playing in a system, being able to defend consistently and working on his body language.

"His whole life it's been, 'Just give me the ball,'" Cronin said. "He's going to have to learn when to be aggressive and when to strike a balance because if you try to dominate every play, you'll get worn out."

RANDOM NOTES: Chattanooga big man Michael Bradley pushed back his decision, at least for a day, after telling FOXSports.com that he planned to make an announcement on Tuesday. Bradley said UConn and Drake are the finalists. ... LSU coach Trent Johnson got a pledge from one of my favorite players this past summer in point guard Andre Stringer out of Mississippi. ... Here's Terrence Jones' visit schedule: Oklahoma (Oct. 10), Washington (Oct. 16), Arizona (Oct. 23), Kentucky (Oct. 28) and UCLA (Nov. 11). ... Iowa State coach Greg McDermott's son, Doug, committed to Northern Iowa, where McDermott coached prior to getting the job at Iowa State. ... Marshall landed a pledge from 6-foot-9 Chipola forward Steadman Short, who spent last year at High Point and will have two years of eligibility left for Donnie Jones.