This is a Penn State program that has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2011 when it lost to Temple in the round of 64. An NIT Tournament win in 2018 was nice, but not satisfying enough as the Nittany Lions just missed out on the big dance and have not had national attention for years.
Lamar Stevens, the senior forward from Philadelphia, Pa is determined to bring Penn State Basketball into the spotlight. Stevens has been the go to guy ever since Tony Carr left early for the NBA Draft in 2018. Carr's absence in the 2018-2019 season was evident but Stevens was able to step up and fill the role as he led the Lions in scoring (19.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg). Stevens is now fifth on Penn State's all-time scoring list with 1,660 points in three seasons. As a sophomore he was named NIT Most Outstanding Player and was recognized as an honorable mention for all-Big Ten honors. His junior year, Stevens was selected to the 2019 All-Big Ten Conference first team by the league’s media members. Recently, assistant coach Kevin Freeman came out and said that Stevens could become the Saquon Barkley equivalent for Penn State Basketball. That's pretty high praise for any coach to compare a player to Barkley in any sport. Even with all of these stats, awards, and praise Stevens is still not regarded as a top player in the country.
A main result of this has been the success of the Nittany Lion Basketball Team. Over Steven's three previous years at Penn State, the Nittany Lions have only had one winning season and have been too inconsistent in Big Ten play. Most recently, last year saw the team lose their first 10 conference games. This has been a focal point this season for Head Coach Patrick Chambers, who is entering his 9th season at the helm of the program. Through his nine years Chambers has only had two winning seasons and many believe he is still on the hot seat as the pressure to win builds. Chambers believes that this team has the ability to take Penn State not just into the NCAA tournament, but will make a run and shock teams as well. The difference in other years you ask, Lamar Stevens. Stevens will be the guy that Chambers relies on in clutch time for the Lions yet again. This year's team has depth but ultimately they will go as far as Stevens can power them if they want to be successful. Steven's is a nightmare match up to guard as he can do it all. He is versatile in multiple positions on the court playing forward, power forward, and he will even bring the ball up sometimes and play point guard. Coming in at 6'8" and weighing 225 lbs, Steven's size and strength is a feature of his ability to drive and score in the post and is one of the reasons why he's been so successful over his collegiate career. Steven's shot a career best (77.0%) from the free-throw line but interestingly enough shot career lows in three-point percentage (22.0%) and field-goal percentage (42.2%) last year. This was a period of adjustment for Stevens after being labeled the primary scoring option. This year, Stevens is working on improving all facets of his game and taking it to new heights.
I believe that if he can stay healthy, Stevens will be one of the premier players in College Basketball and will start gaining the attention he deserves, because one thing's for sure: This guy has the heart, the will, and the talent to play and succeed at the next level, and he'll be able to showcase that to the whole country this year.
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