Penn State set to honor program-changing seniors during men’s basketball Senior Night
Two of Penn State men’s basketball’s most important seniors in Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins will play their final game in the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday when the Nittany Lions take on Michigan State.
The end of their home careers is the beginning of the end of an important era in Penn State men’s basketball, as the Nittany Lions are set to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. But head coach Pat Chambers hasn’t allowed himself to think about how important they’ve been to the program just yet.
“No,” Chambers said with a smile when asked if he’d reflected yet. “I’m preparing for Michigan State. I will (reflect) tonight ... Tonight I’m going to sit back and kind of reflect ... For Mike to stay the course, he could have left at any point, but he knew this was the right place for him.”
Even though Chambers is waiting to think about what his players have meant to him, he acknowledged how much Stevens has meant.
“(I’m going to) reflect on what he’s meant to me and my family,” Chambers said. “To my immediate family. He’s pretty special.”
The senior forward committed to the Nittany Lions in 2015 and signed in 2016, but his re-commitment to the program last season was even more important.
Stevens had an opportunity to leave Penn State for the NBA after is junior season. He entered the 2019 NBA Draft but withdrew after going through the process. Chambers remembered exactly where he was when Stevens made the decision to come back.
“I was in the car driving to Philly,” Chambers said. “When that phone call came in, I was overjoyed.”
He wanted to come back to Penn State to finish what he’d started by making the NCAA Tournament and being a part of March Madness for the first time in his career. Through 29 games, he’s already set to accomplish his goal. Stevens has led the Nittany Lions to a 21-8 record overall and an 11-7 record in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are comfortably in the NCAA Tournament and are playing for seeding the rest of the way.
While the accomplishment seems like a foregone conclusion before the regular season ends, Chambers doesn’t think its magnitude should be discounted.
“He’s put us on the map,” Chambers said. “For him to come back and do what he’s done, (he said) ‘this is what I’m gonna do’ and guess what, he did it. We did it. It’s pretty remarkable when you put it out there like that. What a great impact he’s going to leave on this program ... He’s going to leave an impact on these players in that locker room because now they have somebody to look up to ... Special kid. Special family.”
Stevens and Watkins have been central to Penn State’s success this season. Stevens is the team’s leading scorer with 17.7 points per game and on pace to pass former Penn State guard Talor Battle as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Watkins is the team’s defensive anchor and a feared presence in the paint when he’s in the game. He’s tied for second in the Big Ten with 2.3 blocks per game.
Those two will be recognized after Tuesday night’s game along with senior guard Curtis Jones Jr. as part of Penn State’s senior night. But first they’ll have to take on the Spartans.
Michigan State comes into the game on a three-game winning streak and right after a win over the Maryland Terrapins, who sit at the top of the Big Ten standings.
Penn State enters the contest after a Saturday afternoon loss to Iowa on the road, but there was a positive to take from the game. Sophomore guard and second-leading scorer Myreon Jones returned to action for the first time since Penn State’s first matchup with Michigan State in early February.
Chambers was proud of how his team handled Jones’ absence.
“I’m really proud of our team for weathering the storm,” Chambers said. “I’m really proud of being 4-2 without (Jones). These guys really stepped up and did some great things. That shows you the depth of our team, and that team still needs to get better. There’s a better team within this team, I know it.”
Now that Jones is back, he has to work into a groove. He struggled from the floor Saturday afternoon and scored only four points on nine field goal attempts. Now it’s all about getting his confidence up.
“(His confidence) is going to be really important down the stretch,” Chambers said. “(Jones) needs to believe that we believe in him and when he has an open one he’s got to stick it ... He’s got to search his shots, he’s got to look for shots and he’s got to make everybody else better. He’ll catch up. It’s going to take him a little while but he’ll catch up.”
