Penn State Basketball: Previewing and Predicting the 2019-20 season

The Starting Lineup

At the press conference on Tuesday, Pat Chambers released the starting lineup for Penn State basketball’s home opener on Wednesday night vs. Maryland Eastern Shore.

Myreon Jones, G: Myreon Jones flipped from Memphis to Penn State at the last-minute right before the 2018 recruiting cycle ended. Jones, a four-star recruit, was ranked 89th in the 2018 class by 247Sports.com.

However, Jones was behind Rasir Bolton on the depth chart last season, as a result, he played only 10.8 minutes per game, averaging only 4.0 PPG and shooting 29.8% from the field. Despite Jones’ struggles last season, he showed flashes of his potential at times, notably during the Virginia Tech game, where he scored 18 points off the bench to lead Penn State to a win. He also hit four of eight of his threes in that game.

With a massive increase in opportunity, Jones will have to step up this year and averaged 10-12 points per game this season in order for their Nittany 3 to be successful. In Penn State’s preseason scrimmage vs. Delaware, Jones scored 18 points on 7/13 from the field to go along with eight assists.

If this is a sign of things to come, it would be huge. Jones might be the Nittany Lions’ second most important player the season.

Jamari Wheeler, G: Consider Jamari Wheeler to be the Patrick Beverley of this Penn State team. Wheeler started 25/32 games in his sophomore season in 2018-19 and is a main reason why Penn State was such a great defensive team.

Wheeler doesn’t shoot much, as he only averaged 3.6 PPG in 23.3 MPG, but he did average 1.5 SPG last season. His quickness and energy is off-the-charts, the reason why he’s such a pest on the defensive end.

It would be extremely helpful if Jamari Wheeler can get some semblance of an offensive game or jump shot (18.2% from 3 last season), as he’s almost no threat to score when he has the ball. However, his defensive presence can’t be denied.

Myles Dread, G: Dread had his ups and downs last season as a freshman and there’s no doubt about that. He only shot 37.8% from the field, but he shot 35.6% from beyond the arc.

Dread’s shooting abilities are phenomenal, and Penn State needs to find a way to set off-ball screens to get him open from three-point range. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Dread break out this season and score 13-14 PPG.

In addition to his shooting abilities, Dread’s athleticism and 6’4″ size make him a solid defensive player. Dread is your prototypical 3-and-D player.

Lamar Stevens, F: It’s clear that Lamar Stevens is far and away, the best player on this roster. The Preseason All-Big Ten selection averaged a career-high 19.9 points per game last season.

However, he did it in the least efficient way of his career. Stevens only shot 42.2% from the field (career-low) and 22.0% from beyond the arc (career-low). It was certainly an adjustment for Stevens last season, as it was his first as the number-one scoring option.

His field goal attempts skied up from 12.7 per game to 17.0 per game, and Penn State really didn’t have any other reliable scorers, the main flaw of last year’s team. However, with another year of experience under the other four starters belt, Stevens won’t have to do-it-all this season, and I expect that to result in an increase in his efficiency.

If Stevens can score an efficient 20 PPG to go along with eight or nine rebounds per game on a very successful Penn State team, then he has a shot at Big Ten Player of the Year. Yes, it will be hard to beat out Michigan State’s Cassius Winston, but Stevens has the scoring abilities, defensive talent, and athletic tools to do so.

Mike Watkins, C: It’s been a roller coaster ride for Mike Watkins in his Penn State career, but he’ll look to bounce back and end on a high note in his senior season. Watkins had a down year last season, averaging a career low in MPG (20.8), PPG (7.8), RPG (7.4), BPG (1.5), and FG% (56.1).

He only started 14 of the 27 games he played, largely in part to a combination of injuries and mental health issues that he was battling last season. However, Watkins in the starting lineup on opening night is a phenomenal sign for the team, and it’s great to see him healthy again.

If Watkins sees the minutes he did in his sophomore season (26.3 MPG), then I wouldn’t put in past him to average a double-double with 2 BPG. When he got those minutes two seasons ago, he averaged 12.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.3 BPG.