HE'S RIGHT ON POINT

REV graduate Stevens is a big reason Mt. San Jacinto College is off to a 16-1 start this season

Point guards get a lot of credit as leaders on basketball teams. They carry the ball up the floor, make decisions, and passes that often lead to wins and losses.

Embracing the responsibility of that leadership isn’t always easy, even for talented players, and it can sometimes mean the difference between amateur, collegiate and professional success.

The unquestioned on-court leader of the Mt. San Jacinto College men’s basketball team this season, sophomore guard Dasean Stevens has emerged as one of the state’s top junior college players two years removed from a three-year run as the starting point guard at Redlands East Valley High School.

“The thing with Dasean being so good is that he always gets all the attention from other teams,” MSJC coach Trent Skinner said. “That takes making constant adjustments as a player.”

Stevens is averaging a teamleading 22.7 points per game and his strong play has helped elevate MSJC (16-1 overall), which recently toppled the defending Southern California Regional champions and ranks among the state’s top teams. The Eagles are eyeing a run to the California Community College Athletic Association state finals.

REV wonderkid

Entrusted with the starting point guard role as a freshman at Redland East Valley, Stevens played 29 games his first season and averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

“He had three great years with us,” said Bill Berich, REV’S coach from 1997 to 2022. “I don’t think we ever had another ninth grader ever start at the point.”

Stevens averaged 19.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 28 games as a sophomore, and was pouring in 28 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists when his junior season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He kept improving each year and was probably one of the best point guards to ever come through (REV) for the 25 years I coached,” Berich said. “I wish I would’ve had him his senior year.”

In total, Stevens played in 70 games at REV and scored 1,225

TERRY PIERSON — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Mt. San Jacinto College sophomore point guard Dasean Stevens is averaging 22.7points per game for the high-flying Eagles.