By: Justin “Couz” Walker | WV Sports Chat
Ross Hodge and the WVU men’s basketball team dropped their 2nd round game of the Big 12 Tournament to BYU on Wednesday night. Several hours later, former West Virginia star Erik Stevenson chimed in on X to give some words of encouragement to the program.
Despite spending only one season in Morgantown, Stevenson has been a continuous advocate of West Virginia basketball.
College Basketball Career
The 6-foot-4 guard only played one year at WVU under Bob Huggins, but became an instant fan favorite. His outgoing personality, work ethic, and love for West Virginia University and the state won fans over quickly.
The Lacy, Washington native played in Morgantown during the 2022-23 season. He transferred to WVU from South Carolina. He had also spent time at Wichita State and the University of Washington. Stevenson led the Mountaineer team in scoring his lone season in the Mountain State. His 15.4 points per game average earned him All-Big 12 Third Team honors.
Since Leaving West Virginia
Since his college career ended, Stevenson has played professionally both in the U.S. and overseas. He’s played in the NBA G-League for the Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs), Texas Legends (Dallas Mavericks) and Capital City Go-Go (Washington Wizards). His time with the Wizards organization also included a 10-day contract with the NBA franchise. However, he never appeared in a regular season game.
Stevenson is currently playing in Turkey for Manisa Basket. He’s also played in Europe for Cholet Basket (France) and Casademont Zaragoza (Spain).
The Mountaineer legend also played for the Best Virginia TBT team in Summer 2023. He averaged 12.5 points and seven rebounds during the run. He also hit the game winning shot in the opening round game against DuBois Dream.
Impact on WVU Fans
In this era of the transfer portal, Stevenson was an anomaly. While it’s very common for players to only spend one year at a school, it’s rare for a player to win over an entire fanbase as quickly as Stevenson did with WVU fans.
In a recent episode of Couz’s Corner, I rate the top one-year transfers in WVU sports history. See where Stevenson ranks by checking out the episode.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
