For nearly as long as Penn State basketball has existed fans have wondered what would happen if the Nittany Lions ever recruited as well as their Big Ten counterparts.
To be sure there have been plenty of Big Ten level players to walk through the door at Rec Hall and the Bryce Jordan Center. The DJ Newbills, the Talor Battles and Tim Fraziers. Even the Crispins and their unlimited range have given Big Ten teams fits.
But to recruit well on a regular basis with some of the best established programs in the country; that’s the kind of thing that turns a one man show into a regular tournament team.
And so with the news that four-star small forward Lamar Stevens has committed to Penn State, Pat Chambers and his staff take yet another step forward towards making that quest a reality. Chambers has so far hauled in five recruits in the past 24 months rated at the four-star level, all of whom fall inside the Rivals 150, all of whom are rated in ESPN’s Top 100.
At 6-foot-6, and 190 pounds a Philadelphia and Roman Catholic product, Stevens joins guards and high school friends Tony Carr, and Nazeer Bostick as well as forward Joe Hampton in Penn State’s 2016 recruiting class. The Nittany Lions now also with verbal commitments from three of the state’s Top 6 players with Carr and Stevens coming in at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively with Bostick landing at No. 6 in the state according to the 247Network Composite rankings.
Joining the Nittany Lions on campus this year are four-star freshman, center Mike Watkins and guard Josh Reaves. Both players, but Reaves in particular, will be tasked with replacing former Nittany Lion, DJ Newbill on the scoring front this season. Reaves will help shoulder that scoring load alongside returning guard Shep Garner and forward Brandon Taylor among many other familiar faces. Stevens is the fourth player from Roman Catholic to commit to Penn State following in the footsteps of Garner and former teammate Bostick and Tony Carr.
With one final scholarship open for the 2016 haul Penn State will go for one final full court lob, landing an official visit from Top 30 prospect Mario Kegler next weekend. Penn State’s nationally rated class can already be considered the program’s best, a commitment from Kegler would cement it as a bar unlikely to be topped anytime soon.
The work is far from over for Chambers, but in a world where Penn State recruiting is so often forgettable, the Nittany Lions are only a year away from the hypothetical starting lineup of four-star, Top 100 players.
And if nothing else, it is a rarity that Penn State basketball can steal the headlines from its football counterparts on a Friday afternoon.
B1G Fish
- (2016) Lamar Stevens: 4-stars, 100th in ESPN 100
- (2016) Joe Hampton: 4-stars 98th in ESPN 100
- (2015) Mike Watkins: 4-stars, 90th in ESPN 100
- (2015) Josh Reaves: 4-stars, 74th in ESPN 100
- (2016) Tony Carr: 4-stars, 50th in ESPN 100, (No. 37 on Scout)
