Lamar Stevens is responsible for putting Penn State basketball back on the map. He was going to take the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament this year for the first time in a long time, cementing his legacy. Regardless, he now must prepare for the NBA.
Lamar Stevens 2020 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Stevens played 135 games for Penn State in his career and started every single one of them. Stevens averaged 16.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in his career. Early in his career, he was more of a role player and energizer bunny, but this last season he was the go-to guy.
Last season, Stevens took the Nittany Lions to the NIT and actually won tournament MVP. He has also been named All-Big Ten multiple times. As he said many times, his goal was to help Penn State basketball earn some respect and he did that.
Strengths
Stevens is a great athlete and is incredibly strong. This allows him to play all over the floor. He can also use his body to create position and scoring opportunities for himself and teammates. Obviously, when going to the NBA, everyone is bigger and stronger, but Stevens is still going to be near the top in terms of strength.
Stevens also can score from all levels. He developed his jump shot throughout his career and increased his range. Stevens is really good around the rim given his size and strength, but adding extra levels to his scoring is important. Obviously, he becomes much harder to guard this way.
Sometimes, people think it is a bad thing if a player is a “tweener.” For Stevens, it should be a positive. He can definitely play the three and four positions and on some occasions the five spot. Currently, he is listed at 6’8 but realistically he is closer to 6’6. This makes him fill the same positional role as Zion Williamson. He will mostly play the four but can be a small-ball five or a three if needed. Importantly, he is a very good defensive rebounder for his size, which allows him to play multiple positions.
Weaknesses
One of the biggest problems with Stevens is his lack of efficiency. He is a volume shooter which means he is also a streaky shooter. This led to totals of 43 percent from the field and 28 percent from three. Stevens averaged 14 shots per game, including 17 per game in his junior season. That is a really high volume for a college player. All four years, Stevens’ effective field goal percentage was well below 50 percent.
Another area of concern is turnovers. He averages close to three turnovers a game and most of that is due to his average ball-handling. Stevens will have the ball on the wing often in the NBA so he will need to improve his handling to get to the rim.
NBA Player Comparison
PJ Tucker. Both players have the ability to play all over the court. Stevens is a bit better offensively and Tucker is definitely better defensively. This comparison is more about fit. Both are Swiss army knives.
NBA Draft Projection
Mid second round.
Main Photo
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