Lamar Stevens, a consensus top-100 forward from Philadelphia, has committed to Penn State, making it an historic Nittany Lion recruiting class.
#WEARE 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/rW1qOWJQVW
— LS (@LamarStevens11) September 18, 2015
https://twitter.com/lamarstevens11/status/644960405400502272
BJC BULLIES 🔵⚪️🔵⚪️😱 https://t.co/djeRLgcMJm
— LS (@LamarStevens11) September 18, 2015
The 6-6 Stevens is a teammate at Roman Catholic with two other Penn State commits – point guard Tony Carr and shooting guard Nazeer Bostick. The three, who also played AAU basketball together with Team Final, join Joe Hampton of Hyattsville, MD, a senior at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.
Based on current recruiting rankings, the four compose the best recruiting class in Penn State history. Only the 1997 recruiting class of Pete Lisicky and Calvin Booth comes close when comparing recruiting rankings. As far as college accomplishment, 2007’s Stanley Pringle, Jeff Brooks and Talor Battle set a pretty good standard.
This group, with two consensus four-star recruits in Carr and Stevens and with Hampton, whom ESPN rates as a four-star and top 100, joins two four-star recruits in this year’s freshman class, Josh Reaves and Mike Watkins.
And Penn State still has one scholarship to give. While basketball chalk would suggest a big man is critical to the class, that may be less important in the era of positionless basketball – or given who is available and willing to commit.
Hampton’s Oak Hill teammate Mario Kegler, a 6-7 forward and consensus top-50 recruit, is scheduled to visit Sept. 26. Sedee Keita, a 6-9 post player at Putnam Academy in Connecticut who has visited Penn State, is still being pursued. ESPN has Keita as the No.78 senior in the country and he’s a 247 composite ranking four-star recruit.
Penn State is also aggressively chasing 2017 center Mohamed Bamba, a top-10 talent who would have seemed a huge reach prior to Penn State’s last two classes. Still a stretch, but less so.
Bamba is at the Westtown School near West Chester, PA, and is from New York. Penn State has two New Yorkers on its current roster – Jordan Dickerson and Terrence Samuel.
| Commit | 247 Composite | 247 | ESPN | Rivals | Scout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| and still to visit …. | |||||
| Mario Kegler 6-7 F Jackson, MS |
32 |
27
|
32 |
29 |
46 |
|
Tony Carr |
47
|
80 |
50 |
48 |
37 |
|
Lamar Stevens |
88 |
85 |
100 |
81 |
68 |
|
Joe Hampton |
156 |
264 |
98 |
NR |
NR |
|
Nazeer Bostick |
257 |
266 |
NR |
NR |
NR |
It's a GREAT day to be a #NittanyLion!!!! #weare 🔵⚪️🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/80AeEfKVx4
— Patrick Chambers (@Coach_Chambers) September 18, 2015