Overview
A Baltimore native, Evans started his high school career at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute before transferring to Montverde Academy, where he won a GEICO national title. Evans was a consensus five-star recruit, named a McDonald’s All-American who also participated in the 2023 Jordan Brand Classic. Evans spent one year at Oregon and handled a solid role but wasn’t a star, averaging 7.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in 22.5 minutes across 36 appearances (29 starts). He shot 44.6% overall and 26.7% on 3-pointers on 2.1 3-point attempts per game.
Analysis
At 6-foot-9, Evans possesses NBA size and a solid all-around game but doesn’t have an elite trait yet, though he has plenty of potential to grow on both ends of the court. Offensively, he’s best as a slasher adept at finishing with both hands. Despite poor shooting numbers in college, he’s a capable 3-point threat who’s better from the corners. Defensively, Evans has good instincts but takes too many chances.
Projection
Evans will turn 20 years old before his rookie season, so he has plenty of time to develop into an NBA contributor but will likely spend time in the NBA G League at first. Given his size and left-handed shot, Evans showed flashes of Julius Randle. However, realistically, Evans’ best chance at carving out consistent NBA playing time would be embracing a role similar to Kyle Anderson and/or Patrick Williams.
— Profile by RotoWire