Lamar Stevens Declares for NBA Draft, But Will Retain Eligibility

In a move that isn’t all that much of a surprise, junior forward Lamar Stevens announced his intention to enter the NBA, but said that he will remain enrolled in school and maintain eligibility for a return for his senior season. New rules allow Stevens to remain eligible even after hiring an agent.

Essentially, Stevens is just testing the waters, which coming off a 19.9/7.7/2.1 season makes total sense for a junior prospect. He’ll be able to go through the draft process, hear back from NBA scouts and management on where he’s at as a player and what his draft stock could be, and from there, he’ll be able to make a decision on whether to stay in the draft or return for his final year with the Nittany Lions.

My guess as to what happens: NBA folks will tell him to work on his three-point shooting. Stevens is a terrific college player, but smaller combo forwards who only shoot 22% on 91 three-point attempts generally don’t have a fruitful NBA career. And while his free throw percentage (77%) certainly points to more outside shooting potential, it’s something that NBA scouts will want to see from Stevens in the college game before declaring him draft worthy.