Isaiah Stevens to make season debut against Loyola Marymount

Christmas came early for Colorado State men’s basketball. 

Isaiah Stevens will make his return to the lineup for the Rams against Loyola Marymount on Wednesday night. Head coach Niko Medved reached out to DNVR with the news on Wednesday morning. 

The senior point guard broke his foot shortly before the start of the regular season and was expected to miss most of, if not all of the non-conference slate. However, after recovering much quicker than anticipated, Stevens will be able to return to the floor with a minutes restriction this week. 

Breaking: Isaiah Stevens will return to the lineup tonight for @CSUMBasketball

He has recovered sooner than expected & will be on a minutes restriction

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) November 30, 2022

A preseason all-conference selection and one of the country’s most talented point guards, the return of Stevens is massively important for a Rams squad that still has hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament. 

Stevens has averaged 34.1 minutes a night over the course of the last three seasons, so he’s been an absolute workhorse in his career. He has scored 14.1 points per game and dished out 4.7 assists in the process. Getting him back is huge for a group that has shown they can score from all over the floor, but lacked experience at the point while the veteran was out with injury. His ability to create a quality attempt in isolation scenarios or facilitate an open look for a teammate is up there with any point guard in the country. 

We’ll see how much run Stevens gets this week. I’d imagine the staff will continue to be extremely cautious with their superstar. With multiple quality mid-majors and a couple of Pac-12 schools coming up on the schedule though, just having Stevens’ presence on the floor is a win for CSU.