'08 AZ SF Ryan Evans is a Badger!

[Heavystarch]

JS Online: Badgers power forward with Arizona standout

4/08/08

He considers himself a late bloomer. He was 5-8 as a freshman, 6-0 as a sophomore and grew 5 inches between his sophomore and junior years. Though officially 6-6, Evans thinks he is on the verge of 6-7.

[Heavystarch]

Evans Season Ends

2/29/08

Bizarre ending. I believe his dad later appealed the call.

[Bernini]

I too downloaded their software, viewed the entire game, and here is my evaluaton:

All I'll say is, I hope he is a late bloomer, and more than just from a physical sense.

Offensively, I was surprised by the textbook form and arc on his jumper, given his senior 3 point percentages. He's not the type of player who would wisely be left open on the perimeter. But his delivery is kind of slowish. He seemed to have the quickness to get penetration. However, he didn't have the dribbling ability to get where he desired on the court. He couldn't really shoot adeptly off the dribble or do much meaningful because handling was too much of a chore. He didn't try hard enough to get open. He elected to make the safe pass the majority of the time (in spite of a turnover or two), so I guess he's a Bo Ryan player in that area.

Defensively, he's a very bouncy/energetic player. However, it just didn't seem to translate to lateral quickness on the defensive end like you'd expect. Some opposing players blew by him at will and he seemed a step slow to help. It wasn't out of malaise certainly. Strength was also an issue in the post, getting backed down by shorter but stronger players. He didn't really aggressively challenge balls at the summit as you expect a player who was the longest on the court to do. He tried to play defense without fouling, even though he did end up accumulating 3 or 4. Bo doesn't need to mold him very much in that area.

The biggest improvements he needed to make were in the areas of assertiveness, confidence, and awareness.

Komacki, I thought your confirmation of my concern about his shooting was ironic. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised by his ability in that area.

The video is from his junior year indeed, and only consists of one game, so it doesn't give a crystal clear picture of his current capabilities. However, we do learn a few traits he has/had. He truly made a quantum leap as a basketball player if he rose to the level of a legitimate recruit for a top 10-15 basketball program, his senior season (the numbers indicate some improvements clearly). He wasn't even an NAIA level player his junior season.

I think it's very interesting to me at least, the connections between the Evans' family and the University of Wisconsin. The aforementioned cousin, Quinn Evans, was recruited by Wisconsin for the 2008 football class too. The uncle who was a star wrestler at Wisconsin clearly has contacts in the athletics department and uses them to get the next generation evaluated as prospects. I mean how many high schoolers from Arizona are we typically interested in from either major sport? Just getting a thorough evaluation is a huge part of the recruiting process. Around 1,200 D1 scholarships are rewarded to high school basketballers each year. I'd guess 5 times as many are or should be in the discussion for receiving a scholarship. No way a single program can be aware of and take the time to do thorough evaluations of all those players. So they can only give a select number of players their focus (how many exactly I don't know, probably somewhere in the hundreds). In that way Ryan clearly got an advantage over other potential recruits, by just being able to get his foot in the door.

[komacki]

Originally Posted by Bernini

Komacki, I thought your confirmation of my concern about his shooting was ironic. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised by his ability in that area.

It reminded me of the 12-foot "jumper" Stiemsma had against Illinois (I think) in the BTT. Nice form from the waist up, but he never left the ground. That's fine for a 6'11" center, but not so much for a 6'5" SF. It was also quite slow. Granted, I felt a lot better when I learned that the game was from his junior season, before he "blossomed." (that's way too girly to use without quotes) Hopefully he's gotten more lift as he's gotten stronger. I've seen pictures of him up around the rim, and I don't think he could have done that the way he was during that game.

[Heavystarch]

Rivals $

4/10/08

Rivals has a highlights video of Evans up.

I am basically in consensus that he has a lazy jumper. He is going to need to get off the floor to get his shot off in the big ten.

[Kingballa12gt]

I will agree he has somewhat of a lazy jumper, but I really like his length and athletiscism, I really think this was a good job by Bo to bring in a more athletic, lengthier Forward that has a good outside-inside game.How much do u guys this he will play next year?

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by Heavystarch

Rivals $

4/10/08

Rivals has a highlights video of Evans up.

I am basically in consensus that he has a lazy jumper. He is going to need to get off the floor to get his shot off in the big ten.

Fluid, but slow. His low percentage from beyond the arc, in spite of having a good stroke, seems to indicate to me that he's being pressured by opponents and is having his shot altered. Being pressured effectively indicates they aren't overly concerned with his driving ability.

People are going gaga over his video other places I've read, but they need to understand these are his highlights. By definition they're the positive plays he's made over his career. What you have to look for are tools and projectibles.

At least I know he can drive all the way to the basket now. But his handle still seems cumbersome every time he attempts to put the ball on the deck. I saw no signs of an ability make a lateral adjustment and slide around the quicker/bigger help defenders he'll contend with in the pros. His quickness is above average for a player of his height but it's of the straight line variety.

He exhibited the ability to execute an oop in both the halfcourt and transition. That's valuable because you don't have to pass through defenders, reducing the possibility of a turnover. He should be able to catch and tomahawk a lob every now and then with the Badgers on back-door cuts because opponents are bodying him for the jumper.

Strengths- Straight line Quickness, Length, Leaping Ability, Form on Jumper, Intelligence

Weaknesses- Lateral Quickness, Ball Handling, Quickness of Shot Release, Defensive Anticipation, Strength

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by Kingballa12gt

I will agree he has somewhat of a lazy jumper, but I really like his length and athletiscism, I really think this was a good job by Bo to bring in a more athletic, lengthier Forward that has a good outside-inside game.How much do u guys this he will play next year?

He's the least physically developed of the freshman. Also, he's less advanced than Robert Wilson. Therefore, I think he'll redshirt. I think his coach even said that was likely going to be the plan.

[Kingballa12gt]

Originally Posted by Bernini

He's the least physically developed of the freshman. Also, he's less advanced than Robert Wilson. Therefore, I think he'll redshirt. I think his coach even said that was likely going to be the plan.

Alright yea, i was kind of hoping he would red-shirt as we have some pretty good depth at the SF spot next year thanks

[komacki]

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/907/630849.mov

Rivals highlight video accessable to non-subscribers. It's in grainy Quicktime-O-Vision, but it's better than nothing. I'd have to say that I saw improvement in every area I was concerned about. Also, he's really fast.

[komacki]

There's a poster over on Sportsline who has a cousin that's a high school and AAU coach down in Phoenix, and this is his cousin's take on Evans:

i've coached 5 seasons in Arizona now...I did 2 summers on the club circuit here.... i never even heard of this kid! and my 2 years were coaching at HIS age level...all of my kids that i coached in club were seniors this year too... And the sad thing is he's an okay prospect out of one of the worst senior classes in recent memory for Arizona in terms of premier recruits. this is a kid who should be playing @ Yavapai Community College in Prescott for 2 years and see if he can land a scholarship at University of California - Irvine... he's Morris Cain + 2 inches right now.

the positives...he's a legit 6'7 and is growing still...his overall game has had a meteoric rise in the last couple years. he played in the toughest region (arizona terminology for conference) in the state and was on the best team. i wondered all season how Hamilton H.S., which is a national power in football, had become a top-level hoops team last year and it was because of him for the most part...and his monster offensive games where he dropped 30+ a few times were against the best teams: Highland (Dennis Johnson's nephews and Nick Witheral who committed to Wazzu) and Mesa (against Aaron Fuller who committed to Iowa)...

but...this is a waste of a scholarship... he was headed to JuCo and Bo could have got him in 2 years... the only reason it isn't a compete waste of a scholarship is "Alchy Gullikson" will go back to walk-on status for the remainder of his playing days... side note on Gully...I love that the last time he got caught underage drinking was because he was passed out in a stairwell and the police couldn't even wake him up!!! that cat can drink!


but if this signing in any way @#$%'s up their ability to wait on Jamil Wilson's decision in March '09 (his announced decision date in honor of his late mother) then Bo really made a bad decision in signing this kid....based primarily on a highlight tape they received by the way...

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by komacki

There's a poster over on Sportsline who has a cousin that's a high school and AAU coach down in Phoenix, and this is his cousin's take on Evans:......

He basically confirmed what I figured to be true. Ryan Evans wouldn't have been noticed without his family's ties to Wisconsin/Big Ten athletics. And saying they offered him largely on his highlight video as evidence is plausible because he required his senior season to progress far enough to where he could have compiled a highlight video. He had no highlights his junior year and previous. I'm sure they traveled to see him live 1-2 times, but the evaluation was nowhere near as extensive as most prospects who are offered I'm sure.

That doesn't mean that Ryan didn't make enough of an improvement his senior year. The coach was never privileged to see him play.

[komacki]

It basically fit what I was thinking as well. Here's what my response to it was:

I had a suspicion that Bo had signed him mainly because of his potential, and that pretty much reinforces it. You can look at it this way: Bo brought in a recruit to bank a scholarship on and who could earn it back based on his progression. Is it really that different than Gullikson getting it for this year? Evans has a lot more upside than Gullikson any way you look at it, too. He's a gym rat who's stock has skyrocketed between last year and this one, and there's no reason to think he'll stop getting better anytime soon seeing as though he's supposedly still growing, will get bigger once he gets to Madison, and is such a hard worker. I'm more confident that he'll redshirt next year at least, along with Markolf. And this definitely makes the scenario where Evans' scholarship is Wilson's if he commits to Madison the most likely.

That's how Bo found out about him, but to say that's the primary reason he signed Evans is simplifying things just a bit too much. I could make a highlight tape, but unless I showed the coaches something in an actual game and talking to them I wouldn't get a scholarship.

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