Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans

Evans during a preseason game in October 2013
No. 1 – New Orleans Pelicans
Position Point guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born September 19, 1989
Chester, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school American Christian Academy
(Aston, Pennsylvania)
College Memphis (2008–2009)
NBA draft 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career 2009–present
Career history
2009–2013 Sacramento Kings
2013–present New Orleans Pelicans
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Tyreke Jamir Evans (/taɪˈriːk dʒʌˈmɪər ˈɛvʌŋz/; born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at the University of Memphis and was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 4th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.[1] Evans was the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year winner and was traded to New Orleans in 2013.

High school career

Evans grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was mainly raised by his three older brothers.[1] He attended American Christian Academy in Aston, Pennsylvania, and by his sophomore year began drawing comparisons to NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady.[2] As a senior, he averaged 32.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.3 steals.[3] He was named the MVP of the McDonald's High School All-American Game and co-MVP (with Brandon Jennings) of the Jordan Brand Classic. He was also a first-team Parade All-American.[3] At the age of 16, he was featured in the documentary Gunning for That #1 Spot directed by Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys.[4] Evans was chosen to be the keeper of the SLAM Magazine High School Diary for the 2008 season.[5]

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Evans was listed as the No. 3 point guard and the No. 6 player in the nation in 2008.[6]

College career

In April 2008, Evans announced that he would attend the University of Memphis, after also considering Villanova University and the University of Texas.[7]

Evans transitioned from playing small forward in high school to guard in college. He struggled at times at the beginning of his freshman season at the shooting guard position. This continued until coach John Calipari inserted him as the starting point guard in the 11th game of the season, a 60–45 win over the University of Cincinnati. In 33 minutes, Evans nearly put up a triple-double, with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.[8] The Tigers would not lose another game until falling to the Missouri Tigers in the NCAA Tournament.

Evans was named the Conference USA Rookie of the Week eight times.[9]

Evans was the only freshman finalist for the 2009 United States Basketball Writers Association's national player of the year award, named in honor of Oscar Robertson.

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Memphis 37 35 29.0 .455 .274 .711 5.4 3.9 2.1 .8 17.1

NBA career

Sacramento Kings (2009–2013)

Evans warming up before a game in 2012 as a member of Sacremento

On March 31, 2009, Evans declared himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft, deciding to forgo his remaining three seasons of collegiate eligibility. On June 25, 2009, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fourth overall pick.

On December 1, 2009, Evans was named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the beginning of the season through November.[10] During that time, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36.1 minutes per game. On December 21, 2009, he was instrumental in leading the Kings back from a 35-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls, 102–98.[11] Evans scored 9 of the Kings last 11 points, single-handedly outscoring the Bulls in the 4th quarter (11 points for Evans vs. 10 for the Bulls).

On January 4, 2010, Evans was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the second straight month.[12] On February 12, Evans won the 2010 Rookie/Sophomore Game MVP award after recording 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals on 11/15 shooting. In an act of sportsmanship, he chose to share the award with DeJuan Blair, who had scored 22 points and pulled down 23 rebounds. On March 11, 2010, Evans recorded his first career triple-double in a win against the Toronto Raptors on Rally for RekeROY night. Evans scored 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.[13] Evans became just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in his rookie year, joining Oscar Robertson (1960–61), Michael Jordan (1984-85) and LeBron James (2003–04).[14] On April 27, 2010, Evans was recognized for his accomplishments by being awarded the 2009–10 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.[15]

On December 29, 2010, in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, winning by one point with only seconds remaining, O. J. Mayo hit an off balance shot to put Memphis up by one. With no time outs remaining, Sacramento inbounded to the ball to Evans, who then dribbled the ball to half court and nailed a three-pointer with time expiring, giving Sacramento a two point win. On January 21, 2011, Evans scored a then career-high 35 points, along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. He later missed 19 games due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot and subsequently did not play in the 2011 NBA Rookie Challenge.

On November 24, 2011, Evans signed with Virtus Roma of Italy for the 2011–12 season; the contract included an NBA out-clause.[16] In December 2011, he returned to Kings following the conclusion of the NBA lockout before playing in a game for Virtus. On January 28, 2012, he scored a season-high 31 points 93-96 loss to the Utah Jazz.[17]

In 2012–13, Evans missed 16 out of 20 games between November 30 and January 5 due to a left knee injury. He finished the season with averages of 15.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.[18]

New Orleans Pelicans (2013–present)

On July 10, 2013, Evans was acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans in a sign-and-trade deal involving three teams. The deal sent Robin Lopez to the Portland Trail Blazers and Greivis Vásquez to the Kings.[19]

On December 30, 2013, Evans hit a game-winning shot with 1.2 seconds left in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers.[20] On April 14, 2014, he scored a career-high 41 points in a 101–89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[21]

On April 3, 2015, Evans recorded a near triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in a 101–95 win over his former team the Sacramento Kings.[22]

NBA statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Sacramento 72 72 37.2 .458 .255 .748 5.3 5.8 1.5 .4 20.1
2010–11 Sacramento 57 53 37.0 .409 .291 .771 4.8 5.6 1.5 .5 17.8
2011–12 Sacramento 63 61 34.3 .453 .202 .779 4.6 4.5 1.3 .5 16.5
2012–13 Sacramento 65 61 31.0 .478 .338 .775 4.4 3.5 1.4 .4 15.2
2013–14 New Orleans 72 22 28.2 .436 .221 .771 4.7 5.0 1.2 .3 14.5
2014–15 New Orleans 79 76 34.1 .447 .304 .694 5.3 6.6 1.3 .5 16.6
Career 408 345 33.5 .447 .278 .755 4.9 5.2 1.4 .4 16.8

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jere Longman. "Prep Star's Rise Aided by His Brother's Best Intentions". New York Times. February 21, 2008. Retrieved on June 25, 2008.
  2. ↑ Mark Beech and Ted Keith. "Where Will They Be?" Sports Illustrated. June 27, 2006. Retrieved on June 25, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 12  Tyreke Evans (1989-09-19). "Player Bio: Tyreke Evans - MEMPHIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". Gotigersgo.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  4. ↑ Adam Yauch - IMDb
  5. ↑ "Evans Almighty". Slam Online. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  6. ↑ Tyreke Evans Recruiting Profile
  7. ↑ "Tyreke Evans picks Memphis Tigers". Associated Press. The Sporting News. April 16, 2008. Retrieved on June 25, 2008.
  8. ↑ Wolken, Dan. "Tigers take down Bearcats, 60-45 »". Commercialappeal.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Sacramento Kings - Home". Nba.com. 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  11. ↑ December 21, 2009United Center, Chicago, IL (2009-12-21). "Kings rally from 35 down to clip Bulls at finish". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  12. ↑ "NBA.com". NBA.com. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  13. ↑ http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/11/2598741/evans-is-double-trouble.html
  14. ↑ "Sacramento Kings - Home". Nba.com. 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  15. ↑ Associated, The (2010-04-30). "Kings’ Evans Is Rookie of Year". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  16. ↑ Virtus Roma officially announces Tyreke Evans
  17. ↑ Jazz fend off Kings as Jimmer Fredette misses potential game winner
  18. ↑ Tyreke Evans 2012-13 Game Log
  19. ↑ "NEW ORLEANS PELICANS ACQUIRE TYREKE EVANS AND JEFF WITHEY IN THREE-TEAM TRADE". NBA.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  20. ↑ Notebook: Pelicans 110, Trail Blazers 108
  21. ↑ Notebook: Pelicans 101, Thunder 89
  22. ↑ Pelicans beat Kings 101-95, gain ground in playoff race

External links