2020 Pirate Player Preview: Dimingus Stevens

Date: June 17, 2020

By: Daniel LeMoine

Seton Hall Basketball on Twitter

Who is Dimingus Stevens?

Dimingus Stevens is a 3-star wing who is ranked 136th nationally according to 247Sports Industry Generated Composite Rank. Stevens attended both Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington D.C. and Bishop Walsh High School in Cumberland, Maryland. He also played AAU basketball for Team Takeover of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. Stevens had quite the high school career while at Woodrow Wilson before transferring.

He helped the Tigers win the 2018 DCSAA championship. Individually, he was named to the 2018 District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association second-team All-Conference team. Additionally, he was a 2019 DCSAA second-team All-State selection and a 2019 Washington Post All-Met fourth team selection. He teams up alongside incoming freshman point guard Jahari Long to make up the Pirates’ freshmen class.

Stevens checks in at 6-foot-5-inches and 180 pounds. He was also considering Maryland, Boston College, Temple and Virginia Tech. The D.C. native committed to Seton Hall in July of 2019 after visiting campus in May of that year, marking his only official visit he took.

First things first, Pirate fans should be excited because Stevens can absolutely shoot the lights out of the gym each and every day. His natural shooting ability allows him to really stroke it and be a deep threat from wherever he is on the court.

On Stevens, Head Coach Kevin Willard said, “Dimingus is a very athletic wing with sharpshooting abilities.”

One of the most impressive talents Stevens presents is his quick release and ability to get shots off before defenders can step up on him. This also makes him extremely efficient and useful in the catch and shoot game, allowing flexibility for the Pirates in their offensive play style this upcoming season. While eyes may be on Sandro Mamukelashvili or Myles Cale handling the rock, Stevens can prove to be a nice secondary scoring option all without even taking a dribble.

Ken Nolan/Time-News

However, despite his great range, Stevens is a two-dimensional player who also excels when putting the ball on the floor and being a shot creator. He is 6-foot-5-inches with a long reach which assists him in shooting over defenders and extending for layups past outstretched arms. He is also very athletic in the sense where he can beat defenders off the dribble with his speed and quickness. But as we know Kevin Willard believes that a good defense makes a good offense so now comes the question: What are Stevens’ defensive capabilities?

On Steven’s defense, Willard said, “His athleticism and toughness will allow him to defend at a high level for us. He competes with intensity every time he steps on the floor, which means he will fit in perfectly with the program.”

From a quick glance at his raw defensive abilities it is clear that Stevens plays with an extremely high motor and is always engaged in the game from start to finish. His excitement however, at times, especially in the Big East, lead to minor fouls on the defensive end such as hand checks and such. By improving his lateral mobility and learning to defend without making contact with the opposing player, Stevens will bloom into a solid wing defender who can be flexible and guard an array of players.

Take a look at some of Stevens’ best highlights:

6'5 2020 Guard Dimingus Stevens from Wilson Basketball on Vimeo.

Capitol Hoops/Wilson Basketball

Stevens’ Place in Seton Hall’s Depth Chart

Although a freshman, expect Stevens to have a consistent role on this Pirates’ team due to his pure scoring ability which will certainly be needed after the team’s departures. Seton Hall graduated All-American Myles Powell. Every person around college basketball knows that and assumes Powell, who averaged 21.0 points per game and accumulated the majority of the team’s offense, will enter the NBA and make a career for himself post-pandemic.

In addition to No. 13, the Pirates also lost Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill. McKnight was the team’s secondary scoring option, averaging 11.9 points and 5.4 assists per game in addition to his stout defense that’ll be nearly missed. Finally, for the Pirates’ third loss, we look at the Big East’s Most Improved Player Gill. Standing at 7-foot-2-inches, Gill put up 7.8 points per game, acting as a dominant offensive force thanks to the pick-and-roll game. Three of the top five scorers on last year’s Seton Hall team are now gone and responsibility is now put on Mamukelashvili, Myles Cale, Jared Rhoden and others.

One player who can make these players’ lives much easier is Stevens himself. With a need for scoring, it is believed that Stevens will step right in and earn consistent playing time from Coach Willard. If he is able to adapt to the high intensity defense this Pirates’ team has been playing for years, Pirate fans can look forward to a special beginning of Stevens’ career in the blue and white.

Especially, being at the two and three position, Stevens will have the ability to operate offensively and get looks at the basket, both from deep and off the floor. As previously mentioned, with eyes being on some of the more veteran members of this squad, this offers higher percentage shots for Stevens which will allow him to be efficient on both ends and gain confidence in a scary Big East landscape.

With all this being said, let’s take a look at where Stevens fits into the Pirates’ plans this season and who slots in above and below him. The two and three spots in Kevin Willard’s lineup will be extremely flexible this season and will feature different combinations based on the opposing team or on what strengths and weaknesses become apparent for this Seton Hall team.

Assuming Mamukelashvili returns to South Orange, N.J. this fall, he will either be playing in the power forward position or taking the place of Gill at the five. If he plays at the power forward spot, then that moves Rhoden to the small forward position and most likely forms a backcourt of Bryce Aiken and either Cale or Takal Molson. In this scenario, that leaves Cale/Molson, Shavar Reynolds and potentially Tyrese Samuel above Stevens.

The pair of Cale and Molson will battle it out for a starting spot and Reynolds will look to continue to improve in his unexpected rise at the Hall. Samuel will play time at both the three and the four thanks to his athleticism and flexibility, standing at 6-foot-10-inches, 220 pounds. This then leaves Stevens in a prominent role off the bench in which Willard will look to him for an offensive spark and high energy play.

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

If Mamukelashvili plays at the center position, the assumed move then would be to slide Rhoden to the four spot, opening up starting spots for both Molson and Cale. In this scenario, the only players in wing positions that would be additionally ahead of Stevens would be Reynolds and Samuel. This will most likely lead to an increase in playing time for the freshman Stevens and a little heavier of a load on his shoulders.

The Pirates are not looking for him to step in and consistently put up double figures in a rather loaded schedule this season. But, with trust from Coach Willard and glimmers of his potential, Stevens can solidify a large role on this team in the 2021-22 season. A lot of this starting lineup debate circles around Willard’s game plan for each and every game and as opposed to last year, the Pirates’ starting lineup is bound to change throughout the season.

Stevens’ Projected Role at Seton Hall

If there is one concept that Pirate fans need to learn from this article it’s that Stevens is a certified bucket and is not shy on the offensive end of the court. In a season after the Pirates lost so much offensive talent, this is just what doctor ordered. Lots of people around Seton Hall basketball were disappointed when the team missed out on top-50 and four-star wing Earl Timberlake.

Timberlake was a player who was looked at as Powell’s successor and someone who would be in the NBA soon after being a Pirate. Seton Hall was rumored to be in his final three but in November of 2019, he committed to the University of Miami. While one promising wing looked away, the Pirates should be nothing less than excited for Stevens to step on campus.

247 Sports

A high energy motor mixed with true talent and scoring ability will soon win over not only the fans but also the coaches at Seton Hall. With consistent playing time and efficient shot selection, Stevens could find himself being mentioned in the Big East All-Freshman team talks at the end of the season.

When asked about his play style after the City of Palms tournament in 2018, Stevens said “Even if I’m off I’m going to shoot it until it drops.” This shows the tremendous amount of confidence the D.C. native plays with no matter who he is playing. He also believes that his ability to take defenders off the dribble and not be predictable on the offensive end allows for him to be even more of a threat to opposing teams. He added, “If I’m literally not hitting then I’m just going to go to the rim.”

Are there weaknesses that Stevens has to work on? For sure, he is a raw talent entering one of the toughest conferences in college basketball. But there is no reason to doubt that Willard and his coaching staff will develop Stevens and get his defense up to Willard’s standards so that he becomes a fantastic player at Seton Hall. Stevens is a knockdown shooter and athletic wing who will use his confidence and talent to be a key player off the bench for this team that will find themselves in defensive battles, looking for buckets down the stretch. Stevens has the tools to be a player that by the time he becomes a senior at the Hall, he might just be the leading scorer on the team and a huge threat in the Big East.

Daniel LeMoine is an Assistant Sports Director for WSOU Sports and can be reached at daniel.lemoine@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Men's Basketball, Sports, WSOU