Jawun Evans may not be in the same realm as the more prestigious point guards in this year’s NBA Draft class, but his accomplished collegiate career helps to bolster his stock.
Who Is Jawun Evans?
It’s no secret some of the more coveted prospects in this year’s draft class are point guards. It’s also no secret many, if not all of them, are projected to be lottery selections, at the very least.
After that, however, there’s a considerable drop-off in either talent and/or potential in this year’s point guard crop and teams that are currently in the playoff hunt will very likely fall short of adding a surefire, franchise changing point guard talent this summer. The challenge of finding a guard who is currently projected to be taken deeper into the draft that may end up rising above expectations proves to be no easy feat.
That’s where Jawun Evans hopes to catch the attention of teams around the league. A former McDonald’s All-American, Evans recently wrapped up his collegiate career at Oklahoma State University.
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Upon his arrival in Stillwater, Evans made a grand entrance with his individual play, which helped him earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors at the end of the season last year. Despite Evans’ individual success, the Cowboys failed to reach the NCAA tournament and nosedived without him to finish the season as he missed the last 11 games with a shoulder injury.
Following the team’s dismal season, which culminated in a coaching change, the Cowboys rebounded this year, in large part due to Evans raising the level of his play.
Evans was the driving force behind Oklahoma State’s high powered offense, which finished the season ranked first in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. That helped spark a turnaround for the program in which the Cowboys finished the regular season with a 20-13 record (9-9 record in conference play) and entered the NCAA tournament as a 10-seed.
Although they ended up bowing out of the tournament in the first round, Evans’ productive sophomore season didn’t go unnoticed as he was named third-team All-American at the completion of the regular season. Just mere days after the Cowboys’ exit from the tournament, Evans made the decision to declare for the NBA Draft as well as sign with an agent, effectively putting an end to his time at Oklahoma State.
So with all that, it’s time we take a deeper look at Evans’ strengths, weaknesses and much more.
Strengths
Without a doubt, much of Evans’ appeal revolves around him having the ball in his hands.
He’s incredibly skilled in terms of ball handling ability and so much of it feeds into Evans’ ability as a shot creator, no matter if it’s for himself or for others. As a boost to his adept handles, Evans’ vision as a playmaker is equally impressive.
He regularly keeps his head up and is always looking to dish the ball out to open shooters, players cutting to the rim or hitting the roller in a pick and roll situation. With that kind of awareness and presence on the floor, it should come as no surprise that Evans put up gaudy assist numbers throughout his time at Oklahoma State as he averaged 7.9 assists per 40 minutes.
On the shooting side, Evans has the makings to be a solid shooter when he reaches the next level. After hitting 47.5 percent of his three-pointers in his shortened freshman year, Evans upped his volume of three-point attempts this season, averaging exactly three three-point attempts per game and converting 37.9 percent of them.
Lastly, Evans’ ability to get to the free throw line is undeniable as he averaged a 40 percent free throw rate over his two seasons with the Cowboys. Hitting 81.8 percent of his free throw attempts over that span, Evans’ ability to get to the charity stripe multiple times a night will certainly come in handy when he reaches the NBA, especially considering how much he probes and attacks the paint.
Weaknesses
Unfortunately for Evans, it doesn’t take long to figure out one of his more notable weaknesses when watching him play.
Standing at 5’11”, Evans is very undersized for a point guard, especially in today’s NBA. With that, many of Evans’ concerns fall in line with the more diminutive point guards that are currently in the league, especially on the defensive end.
With that said, Evans’ 6’4″ wingspan does help to make up for his size concerns, and he does have the instincts to be a bothersome defender to some degree (Evans did average 2.4 steals per 40 minutes this season). But more often than not, Evans’ size will put him at a disadvantage defensively and teams will undoubtedly look to exploit that when he reaches the next level.
Additionally, Evans’ athleticism leaves a little to be desired. There’s no question he’s incredibly shifty when he has the ball in his hands, but Evans lacks a certain type of explosion, which shows when he attacks the rim specifically.
Of course, the jump in size, strength and athleticism that’s prevalent throughout the NBA only adds to how much Evans will have to improve on his finishing around the rim. As a result, Evans will likely have to rely on using floaters and runners when navigating within the paint in order to be effective.
What The Experts Say
(as of 4/6/17)
Draft Express (Jonathan Givony): 26th
ESPN (Chad Ford): 37th
CBS (Howard Megdal): 59th
Sporting News (Sam Vecenie): 33rd
The Step Back (Trevor Magnotti and Chris Stone): 26th
Quotes:
Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk believes that while Evans’ overall role and production merits some concern as to how effective he’ll be overall in the NBA, he will ultimately stand as an intriguing choice in the second round of the draft:
"“Evans is good enough on jumpers to keep defenses honest, and at Oklahoma State, he had to create so much for himself. It’d be interesting to see whether limiting his burden improves his efficiency or whether his helpfulness is limited to having the ball in his hands. My guess is the latter, and I’m unconvinced he’s good enough to demand such a role in the NBA. But the possibility is strong enough that I’d be excited about rolling the dice on him in the second round.”"
Evans, himself, recently addressed whether he thinks he should be included with the more talked about point guards entering the draft this year in a sitdown interview with Sports Illustrated:
"“Yes definitely, that’s put a big chip on my shoulder, wondering why I’m not up with those point guards. They’re good point guards too, but I feel like I’m up there with them.”"
Fit With The Bucks
As much as Malcolm Brogdon has been a revelation this season, point guard is still very much a position of need for the Bucks.
We’ve recently seen the team address their lack of point guard depth with the signing of Gary Payton II (Two, The Mitten or The Deux, whatever you prefer). As much as that gives the Bucks another body to fill out their point guard core, the problem with having very similarly minded point guards still remains for the Bucks at this stage.
In that sense, Evans is closer to providing something different for the Bucks, if he were to be on the radar.
His unselfishness would fit in seamlessly with this Bucks team, who play to their strengths when the ball is regularly moving and zipping around the halfcourt. Along with that, the promise he shows as a shooter, especially off the dribble, is incredibly enticing, especially since both Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova struggle in that regard.
However, some of his flaws fall in line with the duo’s weaknesses, with his finishing around the rim coming to mind in particular. And, of course, Evans’ size will almost certainly be a liability that will require some strategy from the coaching staff to keep him on the floor.
The question that remains is whether Evans fits the mold of the high-risk, high reward prospect the Bucks tend to favor, specifically in the first round. At 20 years old, Evans possesses the skills the Bucks are currently lacking at point guard, but he has serious question marks that he’ll have to address in order to reach his full potential.
Next: NBA Draft 2017 Prospect Watch: Markelle Fultz
As we know, anything can happen when teams are finally on the clock on draft night, but the general consensus (at this point) is that Evans will likely be available when it’s the Bucks’ turn to select, which hovers around the 17-20 range. Only time will tell if he checks all the boxes the Bucks are looking for in this draft.