Lamar Stevens ‘heartbroken’ by abrupt end to Penn State basketball’s season, he tells ESPN
Lamar Stevens had his goal in sight.
After testing the NBA Draft waters over the summer, he decided to return to the Nittany Lions and help them earn their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011.
He seemed well on his way to accomplishing that goal. Penn State put together a 21-10 season and was a virtual lock to make the NCAA Tournament.
Then the novel coronavirus pandemic hit. The Big Ten Tournament was canceled and so was the NCAA Tournament.
Just like that, the senior forward’s college career ended. He was just seven points away from becoming Penn State’s all-time leading scorer, three days from seeing Penn State announced on Selection Sunday and one week away from taking the court in the NCAA Tournament.
Plenty of athletes have seen their career come to an unceremonious end, but few have missed out on as much as Stevens.
The senior forward went on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt on Sunday night to discuss everything he missed out on, and said it all started with a word he tweeted out Thursday after the news broke: “heartbroken.”
“I was definitely heartbroken,” he told Van Pelt. “I’ve been able to take a few days to be around my family, my friends and my loved ones.”
Even with the disappointing end, the senior forward said he cherished his time with the Nittany Lions, and the time around his inner circle allowed him to reflect on it.
“’I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m still grateful for my experience,” he said. “I was definitely hurt with the way the season ended. But I had an amazing four years. I developed great relationships with coaches and teammates and friends and all types of people at Penn State. I have so much to be grateful for. Although, it ended in a way that I didn’t want it to, I still have a lot to be happy and proud of in my experiences.”
He reiterated what he’d said all season. The sole reason he returned to Penn State was to play in the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn’t just so he could play. Stevens said he came back to make it for Penn State head coach Pat Chambers and the entire Penn State community.
The individual accolades weren’t the biggest factors in Stevens’ decision to return.
“It was never about that for me, at all,” he said. “It was about getting this team to the tournament and taking this team to places it hadn’t been.”
The senior forward and the rest of the Nittany Lions will never have the opportunity to take the floor together in the NCAA Tournament, but he’s hopeful they’ll still be remembered as a tournament team because of what they accomplished this season.
“Our resume speaks for itself,” he said. “I think there’s a lot to be proud about and there’s still a lot to talk about. Hopefully we’re still in that conversation as being a tournament team even though we weren’t able to play. I sure hope so.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 5:48 PM.
