Lamar Stevens

Lamar Brandon Stevens was born on July 9, 1997 in Philadelphia. Stevens attended The Haverford School in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania for his first two years of high school basketball. Stevens was named to the All-State and All-District teams as both a sophomore and a junior, while also leading Haverford to two consecutive state titles. For his senior season, Stevens attended Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, joining future Penn State teammates Tony Carr and Nazeer Bostick. Stevens helped lead Roman Catholic to the No. 1 ranking in the state, as well as a top-15 national ranking. Stevens once again made the All-State and All-District teams, while scoring 20 points in the state championship game during his senior season. A four-star recruit, Stevens committed to play college basketball at Penn State. Stevens was an immediate impact player at Penn State, starting all 33 games as a freshman. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman First Team, while averaging nearly 13 points per game. As a sophomore, Stevens averaged 15.5 points and 5.9 boards per game, helping lead Penn State to an NIT championship. He was named the MOP of the NIT Tournament. As a junior, Stevens averaged a career-high 19.9 points per game, while playing nearly 37 minutes per contest. Stevens was a First Team All-Big Ten selection and initially entered the NBA Draft, only to withdraw his name and return for his senior season. Stevens once again made the All-Big Ten First Team as a senior, and he became the third player in Nittany Lions history to surpass 2,000 career points. Stevens had a career-high 33 points in a win over Minnesota on February 8. Stevens is the author of "Lamar's Climb -- A Journey to Happy Valley" -- a children's book that teaches geography and caters to kids with special needs.