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Isaiah Stevens impresses at NBA Summer League, fuels momentum for 2-way contract

Damon Cook, Sports Editor

July 24, 2024

Collegian | Emma Askren

Colorado State University guard Isaiah Stevens drives the ball in a CSU men’s basketball game against San Jose State University during the Mountain West championships March 13. CSU won 72-62.

Isaiah Stevens is privy on what it takes to achieve the spectacular inside Thomas & Mack Center.

While no longer in a Colorado State uniform, Stevens continued to impress the basketball world as he helped lead the Miami Heat to the NBA 2k25 Summer League Championship Game, where the Heat won 120-118 in overtime. Stevens fouled out late in the fourth quarter but put up a respectable four points and six assists to help lead the Heat to victory.

After his legendary collegiate career for the Rams, Stevens went undrafted before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat.

Stevens boasts an array of accolades coming out of CSU, including Mountain West Freshman of the Year, being named to the First-Team All-MW three times, becoming a top-10 finalist for the 2022 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award and leading CSU in both all-time points and assists.

Despite all of his hardware, Stevens initially flew under the radar. But with poise and maturity, he has taken the summer league by storm, coming out with scorching hot numbers.

He’s shot splits of 59-64-89 and averaged nine points, three rebounds and eight assists. Of all players who have played multiple games in the summer league, Stevens ranks No. 3 in assists.

While Stevens has put up some good-looking numbers, the value he’s brought to Miami doesn’t lie within the box score, but instead with how he’s been able to unlock first-round pick Kel’el Ware.

The big out of Indiana has had his fair share of eye-popping lobs coming off of a Stevens’ feed. The Stevens-to-Ware pick-and-roll has been an effective play the Heat have utilized throughout their championship run.

While Stevens has yet to sign a contract to play at the next level, his run this summer makes that an unlikely outcome for the upcoming season. Because Stevens signed an Exhibit 10 contract, the Heat reserve the right to convert his contract to a two-way up until the day before the NBA season, which commences on Oct. 22.

The Heat already have all three of their two-way slots filled, meaning they will either need to waive one, sign Stevens to a full NBA contract or let Stevens take his talents elsewhere.

Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.

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About the Contributors

Damon Cook, Sports Editor

Damon Cook is the 2023-24 sports editor for the The Collegian and has been at the paper since August 2022. He started doing coverage on volleyball and club sports before moving onto the women's basketball beat. He is in his third year and is completing his degree with a major in journalism and media communication and a minor in sports management. As The Collegian's sports editor, Cook reports on CSU sports and helps manage the sports desk and content throughout the week. After having a year to learn and improve, Cook will now get to be part of a new age under the sports desk. The desk moved on from all but one other person and will now enter into a new era. Damon started school as a construction management major looking to go in a completely different direction than journalism. After taking the year off during the COVID-19 pandemic, he quickly realized that construction wasn't for him. With sports and writing as passions, he finally decided to chase his dreams, with The Collegian helping him achieve that. He is most excited to bring the best and most in-depth sports coverage that The Collegian can provide.

Emma Askren, Sports Editor

Emma Askren, alongside Damon Cook, is the fall 2023 sports editor for The Collegian. She began working at The Collegian during her first year in the fall of 2022, when she covered the swim and dive team as well as anything sports-related. She is currently a sophomore at Colorado State University, where she is majoring in journalism and media communication and double minoring in Spanish and sports management. During her first year, she joined the rowing team, began working as a reporter for The Collegian and working at the Student Recreation Center. Askren applied to CSU as a journalism major, knowing she wanted to combine her passion for sports and writing to create a fulfilling career. Upon realizing that Rocky Mountain Student Media was hiring for first-years, she jumped at the opportunity to become a writer for The Collegian. While working for the sports desk, Askren has had the opportunity to write about hockey, logging, whitewater rafting and the importance of women in sports. As a woman in a male-dominated industry, she seeks to break the status quo and become a successful sports journalist following graduation. Following a year as a sports reporter, Askren became a co-editor for the sports desk alongside Cook. Together the duo seeks to create a new and improved sports desk that caters to all readers of The Collegian and beyond.

This publication is not an official publication of Colorado State University, but is published by an independent corporation using the name The Rocky Mountain Collegian pursuant to a license granted by CSU. Approximately 59% of Rocky Mountain Student Media Corp’s income is provided by the Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU) for the purpose of fostering student careers post-college and greater campus awareness and engagement.

Go to www.rockymountainstudentmedia.com for more information. Rocky Mountain Student Media is a registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 26-2998141

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