He’s back.
After testing the NBA waters this spring, Isaiah Stevens announced that he will use his COVID year and return for a fifth season at Colorado State.
For a Rams team that has NCAA Tournament potential, Stevens electing to run it back is absolutely massive. The staff did a phenomenal job of reloading the roster with the transfer additions of Joel Scott (Black Hills State), Nique Clifford (Colorado) and Javonte Johnson (New Mexico).
The 2023 signing class of Rashaan Mbemba and Kyan Evans is quite intriguing as well. By now also bringing back the league’s best point guard though, it feels like CSU has a strong chance to be right back in contention after a down season in 2022-23.
In addition to significantly elevating CSU’s ceiling as a team, by coming back for one last dance, Stevens has an opportunity to cement his status as the program’s greatest all-time player.
Stevens already owns the school record for assists (618). And with 1,774 career points, he needs only 207 more to surpass Pat Durham as CSU’s all-time leading scorer (1,980). The career records for games played, games started, field goals made, 3-pointers made and total minutes played are all realistically in play for Stevens as well.
With Stevens officially returning, the Rams have a full roster for the upcoming season. After an extremely challenging year filled with all kinds of unfortunate circumstances, it’s going to be fun to see what type of noise this group can make in the Mountain West.
It’s also going to be special to see Stevens create just a little bit more Moby magic before he inevitably goes on to be a tremendous professional player.
CSU fans have been fortunate to watch one of the savviest guards in the game over the last four seasons. Hopefully it’s not lost on Ram Nation just how unique of a player Stevens is. It’s not an exaggeration to say that he could play anywhere in the country, but Stevens has always stayed true to the Green & Gold.
In an era where it’s all about the bag and less about the team, Stevens is truly one of a kind.
