MIKE BURKE

Allegany Communications Sports

Lost in the mass indifference to NBA All-Star Weekend was the great news that former West Virginia University wing Erik Stevenson had signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards.

The son of Craig and Debbie Stevenson, Craig being a 1977 graduate of Fort Hill High School, the 25-year-old Erik Stevenson (6-4, 205 pounds) is in his second season of professional basketball since leaving WVU. He was brought to training camp by the San Antonio Spurs in 2023 and the Wizards this year, before playing with each team’s NBA G League team. Stevenson also played in three games for Washington during the 2024 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

In 32 games this season for Washington’s Capital City Go-Go, Stevenson is averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He currently ranks third in points per game off the bench for the full NBA G League season (minimum 10 games) and has scored at least 20 points 15 times. He was selected to the G League “Up Next” game that was part of All-Star Weekend.

The journey continues for the Lacey, Washington native, but has now landed him with the opportunity he has worked for for most of his life. After being a consensus All-State player for Timberline High School in Washington where he averaged nearly 25 points a game, Stevenson spent two seasons at Wichita State before transferring when Gregg Marshall resigned in 2020, spent one season at Washington and another one at South Carolina before leaving when Frank Martin was fired, landing him in Morgantown to conclude his college career playing for Hall of Famer Bob Huggins and helping the Mountaineers to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.

Stevenson could have played overseas no questions asked coming out of college, but instead chose to follow his ambition directly by signing as a free agent with the NBA Spurs, and then with the Wizards, turning in by far the best season of his young professional career for Capital City.

Stevenson has the all-around guard/wing game, but he is a scorer, and he should have opportunities to score for the Wizards, who are currently 9-45 and in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Stevenson will likely join the Wizards on Friday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena.

The Wizards will then play Sunday in Orlando against the Magic, but return home Monday February 24 against the New Jersey Nets, then host the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday, February 26.

Stevenson’s father Craig, who stood 6-foot-3 in high school, played baseball for Fort Hill, but not basketball, though it seemed he was always playing it everywhere else. That included after he had moved to Washington state after attending the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School for professional baseball in Florida. By that time, Craig had grown to 6-10, 260 pounds when he was discovered playing pick-up by Len Stevens, the basketball coach at Saint Martins, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school in Lacey.

Craig eventually earned a scholarship at Saint Martins, but when Stevens left the school for another job, Stevenson transferred to Puget Sound, which had won the 1976 Division II national title.

Craig would help Puget Sound go 27-3 and 23-7 during the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons, then played a year of professional basketball in Europe and three in Australia.

The Stevenson family has long been generously involved with the greater Cumberland community and in  supporting our sports, as Erik’s great grandfather, Jim Stevenson, was a renowned semi-pro pitcher in the 1930s and ‘40s.

Erik’s grandparents, Ellen “Snookie” Stevenson and the late, great George Stevenson worked tirelessly for charity and for area youth sports, as Snookie led The Children’s League for years, while George was one of the most kind and giving men I have ever known.

He could be found on Baltimore Street every Christmas in the cold evening conditions ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. He helped lead the Cumberland Rec Baseball League among many other organizations, but is likely best remembered for being on the Mount Rushmore of volunteers for the Dapper Dan Club of Allegany County.

George was an enormous force for the Dapper Dan for decades. He gave his time and care in every capacity, serving as the chairman for the Dapper Dan awards banquet for over 20 years, as the club’s Top Award carries his name, along with the name of the late Nick Perlozzo.

In turn, our area has embraced Erik even though he was born and raised on the other side of the country, which was never more evident than two years ago when he helped lead WVU to another taste of March Madness.

We’ve always liked the moxie and his father’s (let’s call it) stubbornness that we see in Erik, not to mention his basketball ability, which he has honed and elevated through his hard work and his devotion to his dream.

Well, guess what? Erik Stevenson has made his dream come true, and will not stop until he can make his dream stay true. He gives us great reason to start watching the NBA again, as we figured he one day would.

Erik Stevenson is family.

It’s a great thing to see.

Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT