Blue White Illustrated

Lions' freshmen making smooth transition L amar Stevens knew his transition from high school to the Big Ten would present some challenges. He just didn't know it would be like this. A Rivals.com four-star recruit and top- 100 prospect in the Class of 2016, the 6- foot-7, 218-pound forward had been through challenging situations before. Transferring to Philadelphia Roman Catholic for his senior high school season, Stevens helped lead the Cahillites to a PIAA Class AAAA championship alongside two of his fellow Penn State recruits, Nazeer Bostick and Tony Carr. The standards, set by coach Chris Mc- Nesby in back-to-back title seasons, meant that he would be constantly pushed. The veteran prep coach wouldn't hold back if effort or intensity were lacking, Stevens said. Still, upon his arrival at Penn State in late June, Stevens and his fellow freshmen found themselves in completely new terri- tory. "We all go through the same struggles, and as freshmen you really don't know what to expect when you're coming in," Stevens said. "So when we got here, our first workout was just crazy. They killed us. We just laid in bed all weekend. We were holding mats over our heads, we were pushing sleds. It was the hardest workout I've ever done in my life, still to this day. It made us tougher. So we appreciate it, but it's definitely not easy." Under the direction of Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers, those standards have remained consistently high since that first summer workout. And meeting with reporters before the season, the sixth-year coach reported that the class of true fresh- men was exceeding his expectations. Part of the highest-rated recruiting class in the history of the Penn State men's bas- ketball program, Stevens said he under- stood that lofty standards were going to come with the territory. Yet even beyond the initial, jarring workout, he hadn't been completely prepared for the challenges he would face. Working through it in the sum- mer months, though, Stevens has already seen the dividends of his efforts during the transitional phase. "There's nothing that's been on this level in terms of basketball and strength and conditioning. It's tough, but you see the re- sults, and in the end it all pays off," he said. "It's really hard when you do it, but when you see the results it kind of makes it more fun and you just want to keep doing that and keep trying to conquer new things." Shep Garner, a fellow Roman Catholic alumnus and current Penn State teammate, has noticed. Participating in off-season workouts and pickup games with his true freshman teammates, Garner said without hesitation that the overall level of intensity has taken a dramatic turn among the Nit- tany Lions. Two years into his career, Gar- ner called the difference "night and day," | Joe Hampton's Penn State career ended before it even really began. Announcing the news Sept. 30 in a two-paragraph press release, the Nittany Lions revealed that the for- mer Rivals.com four-star prospect would no longer be with the team. "Joe has made the decision to leave the program based on personal rea- sons," coach Patrick Chambers said in the prepared statement. "We wish him the best of luck with his future endeavors." The parting of ways occurred less than halfway through Hampton's first fall semester on campus and was announced on the first day of the team's preseason practices. It was quickly followed by a tweet from the team's official account that read, "Fourteen guys committed to each other and diving into the process. #PSUMBB gets to work." Hampton's exit was his second break with the program. He had been the first prospect to join the Lions' Class of 2016, announcing his com- mitment in the summer of 2014. He later decommitted and opened his recruitment during the Nittany Lions' 2014-15 campaign. Shortly after the season, Hampton rejoined the class, signing his letter of intent in November 2015. Before the start of his senior season at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, Hampton suffered a severe knee in- jury, and he put on weight as he was forced to miss the entire year. When he arrived at Penn State for the first summer semester, Hampton partici- pated in team activities, including on-court work and philanthropic projects. But, listed at 6-foot-8, 290 pounds, he focused primarily on conditioning. "He's got a ways to go," Chambers told reporters in August. "But when the season comes around, then you figure out if Joe's ready to go or not, and I think he will be as long as he stays on the path that he's on right now." As it turned out, that path led him elsewhere. According to Jon Roth- stein of CBSSports.com, Hampton announced his intention to enroll at South Plains Junior College in Texas. He'll have four years of eligibility re- maining. –N.B. Hampton opts to leave Penn State

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