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Penn State Hoops’ Lamar Stevens, Mike Watkins Named To Award Watch Lists

Despite a recent slump in form, Penn State men’s basketball has enjoyed a successful season thus far. The team’s two most experienced players, Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins, recently got recognized for different awards.

Stevens got announced to the 30-man candidate list for the Senior CLASS Award, which is given annually to the best senior in the nation. The Penn State power forward is joined by fellow Big Ten standout Cassius Winston of Michigan State, who many projected to receive the Wooden Award as the best player in the nation.

Stevens has earned his spot on the list by leading the team with 16.6 points per game. His physicality and ability to make monster plays have given him multiple SportsCenter Top 10 dunks already this campaign.

Fellow senior Watkins was awarded for his play on the other end of the court. The center was one of 15 players awarded a spot on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Team. Watkins joined Michigan guard Zavier Simpson as one of two Big Ten representatives, and they’ll go head-to-head when Watkins and Penn State travel to Ann Arbor on Wednesday.

Watkins leads the conference in blocks per game, and his 3.11 average is good for sixth in the nation and second among Power Five teams.

Although he has recently been relegated to the bench in favor of junior John Harrar, Watkins remains one of the most feared Big Ten centers when he’s on the court. His most notable efforts this season included going toe-to-toe with Luka Garza (Iowa) and Jalen Smith (Maryland).

Under the leadership of Stevens and Watkins, Pat Chambers’ team sits at 13-5 with a 3-4 Big Ten mark. Penn State and Michigan will tip of at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and you can watch the game on the Big Ten Network.

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About the Author

Otis Lyons

Otis is a sophomore majoring in print journalism and is one of Onward State's associate editors. He lives just north of San Francisco, and is a diehard San Jose Earthquakes fan. Feel free to send over your soccer hot takes to his twitter @otisnlyons1 and instagram @otislyons

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