Da’Shena Stevens, Senior, Forward, St. John’s
Overview:
Da’Shena Stevens has been the prototypical all everything player for St. John’s. She is dominant on offense, she can rebound and shows that whatever it takes attitude for the Red Storm. In 2008-09 she was named the Big East Freshman of the Year and was the only unanimous selection to the all-freshman team. Stevens scored 11.9 points per game and established her defensive excellence by leading St. John’s in rebounding (6.6 per game) and block shots (35). In 2009-10, Da’Shena followed up her impressive freshman year with a stronger sophomore season leading the Red Storm to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She led the team in scoring with 14.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and shot 47.5 percent from the field.
In 2010-11 Stevens started 31 of 32 games and was second on the team in scoring, dominant on the glass leading St. John’s once again at 6.4 rebounds per game and helped the Red Storm get back to the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Stanford.
Final Projection:
Stevens is leading a Red Storm squad that achieved its highest ranking at number 17 last season, for another run back to the NCAA Tournament in the always deep Big East Conference. The keys for her will be to continually get to the free throw line and if her free throw percentage can rise back over 60 percent her scoring average should hover back around 15 points per game. She should safely go within round two of the 2012 WNBA Draft barring injury or significant drop-off in her play.
