Penn State Men's Basketball
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference
vs. Indiana – December 4, 2018
Lamar Stevens | F | Junior
Q: Can you take us through your vantage point on what happened in the final seconds?
A: My teammates had great screens on me. We got the switch but he was able to get his hand on the ball so I could not get a clean catch. He knocked it out of my hands.
Q: Coach Chambers talks a lot about mental conditioning. What do you think about the team's mental conditioning state right now and if you are where you want to be?
A: We are young right now and there are going to be a lot of ups and downs with young guys. I think that we are good in terms of freshmen, but I just think that at the end of the day it comes down to me and Josh Reaves. We both have to do more.
Q: Is it tough to have these freshmen step up and take big shots? Those three are probably your more reliable three-point shooters, so is it tough to ask them to step up in these kinds of games?
A: I think they are doing a great job with it. They are really confident and they are handling it well. They want the ability to take those shots and I think they are doing a great job.
Q: You guys started really well defensively only allowing four points in the first eight minutes. At the same time, you did not really grow a huge lead. Did you feel like that was a missed opportunity?
A: Yeah I did. I thought that we did not capitalize during the times we needed to. There are going to be some things that we need to clean up to get to where we want to be.
Q: Josh [Reaves] struggled shooting from the floor tonight and he had some free throw opportunities at the end. What could you say to encourage him and where is he at mentally?
A: Josh is hungry. He knows what he is capable of doing and he is going to continue to work on his game and himself until he gets there. I think that is where he is. I do not think he is discouraged. It happens where some people go through stretches like this and I think he will bounce back in a strong way.
Q: As one of the older guys on the team, how do you address the free throw situation and the missed opportunities you guys had at the line tonight? Does that give you any reason to be positive going forward, knowing that you just need to make a couple of free throws to win the game?
A: I have always told the guys that it is always the little things that will separate Big Ten games because everyone is so talented. You always have to do the little things really well. This is just another case of that and we need to make free throws. Something small but we have to keep practicing and keep getting better at it.
Q: What does more mean to you at this point? You are doing just about everything that you can, so what does more mean to you?
A: I think I can impact the game in a lot more ways. I had some missed opportunities. I am not shooting a great percentage from the three-point line and I think that is something I can improve on. As long as I stay in the gym I think there is always room for growth. I am going to watch the film and find ways that I could have done something better. There are always times that you can do something better.
Q: You mentioned the missed opportunities. How crucial do you think that is in maybe preventing you guys in getting some of a running game somewhere mentally?
A: It goes back to the little things and you just have to do them. Layups and free throws. It is not anything difficult like a fadeaway. It is just doing the common and simple things that we have to do. We have to do better.