My NCAA Sophomore Crush: Jawun Evans
By Chris Stone
Oklahoma State’s Jawun Evans probably didn’t envision a freshman season plagued with obstacles when he committed to the Cowboys back in October of 2014.
The 6-0 point guard was a four-star recruit coming out of Kimball High School in Dallas, TX and ultimately chose Oklahoma State over the likes of Texas, Southern California, and Illinois because of his belief in then head coach Travis Ford and Ford’s willingness to allow Evans to be a ball-dominant guard in a pick-and-roll heavy scheme.
Ford was fired at the end of the 2015-16 season — the culmination of nine years in Stillwater highlighted by the Marcus Smart-era and punctuated by an unsatisfactory 12-20 record during Evans’ freshman year.
More from FanSided
- Patriots backup plan for DeAndre Hopkins is a shot in the dark
- Raiders: Saquon Barkley’s new contract may have screwed over Josh Jacobs
- Clark Hunt throws cold water on potential Chiefs throwbacks
- Packers: 3 free agency mistakes Brian Gutekunst should already regret
- Cowboys give a masterclass in defense construction with Trevon Diggs extension
The poor performance that led to Ford’s firing was an amalgamation of on-court calamity. The Cowboys’ best returning player, Phil Forte,
with an elbow injury that he suffered in November, taking away the team’s best floor-spacer and a valuable scoring option. Evans himself was hindered by a shoulder injury sustained in an early February contest against Texas Tech that caused him to miss the final 10 games of the season. Oklahoma State went 1-9 during that stretch.
Despite the struggles, Evans delivered an impressive series of performances in mid-January that should bring hope to fans of the Cowboys. It was that stretch against Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas that made the point guard my sophomore crush.
The trifecta started with a ridiculous barrage of points against the Sooners during the first Bedlam meeting of the season. Despite coming up a Jeffrey Carroll three-pointer short in the 74-72 loss at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Evans delivered a game to remember, dropping 42 points on 31 shots while outshining future National Player of the Year Buddy Hield in defeat. The 20-year old followed up his scoring outburst with an inefficient 12 points on 13 shots against Texas in Austin, but he showed his rebounding and passing chops by collecting seven of each — for a 6-0 guard, his 14.8 percent defensive rebounding rate is quite impressive. Evans’ Mona Lisa, though, came three days later on an unsuspecting Tuesday in the middle of winter.
The thing is, I got my undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas and later returned to pursue a master’s degree there. I enjoy watching the Jayhawks win basketball games. Sometimes they don’t. I’ve experienced my fair share of unexpected mashings in opposing arenas. There was Alan Voskuil hanging 35 on Kansas when Texas Tech rung up a shocking 19-point win in 2009 and then there was the famous “Topeka YMCA” game against TCU in 2013.
There was also Jawun Evans and Oklahoma State on that unsuspecting Tuesday in the middle of winter. On that night, Evans demolished the Jayhawks with precision passing, bursts of speed, and quality pick-and-roll decision-making.
It was a master display of modeling the modern point guard position against one of the top-five defenses in the country. Evans finished with 22 points, eight assists, and six rebounds as he led the Cowboys to one of the most surprising upsets of the NCAA season and left Jayhawk fans across the country flabbergasted. I turned off the TV impressed.
The scary thing is that Evans should be better next season. Not only will the rising sophomore have an extra summer of seasoning to hone his skills, he’s also in a better situation now. Ford is gone, replaced by head coach Brad Underwood, a 52-year old who made the NCAA Tournament three straight years at Stephen F. Austin behind strong guard play.
Evans will also finally get a chance to share the backcourt with the sharp-shooting Forte after the senior announced his plans to return to Stillwater in March. As a freshman, the 20-year old averaged 6.8 dimes per 40 minutes while posting a 41.9 percent assist rate — the fourth best mark in the country — despite his team shooting a hapless 42.3 percent from the field. Forte’s shot-making should help make those elite distribution numbers even better. That’s a scary thought for Kansas fans, myself included.