It’s been said on many occasions that the Class of 2015 is lacking when it comes to point guards who can run their teams at a high level, with wings and big men taking up the majority of the top slots in the rankings put together by major scouting services. One of the top point guards in the class is Kimball HS (Dallas, Texas) senior Jawun Evans, with the four-star prospect rated as the 26th-best player in the class by Rivals.com.
Evans is on an official visit to Oklahoma State today, with that trip following his visit to Illinois last weekend. According to Alex Roux of the Daily Illini, Illinois’ student newspaper, a decision from Evans is expected to come in the near future.
Jawun Evans' mentor tells me there won't be any "prima donna" press conference announcement for Evans, decision likely next Wed or Thurs.
— Alex Roux (@a_roux) September 25, 2014
Counting Oklahoma State, Evans has taken three official visits thus far with Illinois and USC being the other schools to have hosted him. But Roux’s tweet is interesting for the fact that Evans was expected to visit Texas next weekend according to 247Sports. Does Thursday’s news mean that Texas is out of the equation? That’s tough to answer, especially without the player himself saying anything about the status of that trip.
Oklahoma State added three point guards to the program this summer, two of whom will have eligibility remaining in 2015-16 (JUCO transfer Jeff Newberry and freshman Tyree Griffin). Yet even with that being the case, Evans would give them a very talented option at the position as the Cowboys look for a player capable of leading their program for years to come.
As for Illinois, the Fighting Illini find themselves in a position of need with Jalen Brunson having committed to Villanova early this month. Tracy Abrams, who will miss the 2013-14 season due to a torn ACL, is expected back for a fifth year but John Groce can really use Evans to bolster a backcourt that added Jalen Coleman-Lands earlier this week and has Jaylon Tate, Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill (all sophomores) as well.
All three of Texas’ current point guards will have eligibility remaining in 2015-16, with junior Javan Felix and sophomores Isaiah Taylor and Kendal Yancy being those options. USC has two point guards who will have eligibility remaining in sophomore Julian Jacobs and freshman Jordan McLaughlin. Evans will help any of these four programs, regardless of when he announces his decision. The question some will debate is who the decision to announce next week favors.