This Duke Blue Devils star is being projected to land with a title contender in the NBA Draft.
Right now, it looks like the Duke Blue Devils have three players who could potentially go in the first round of the NBA Draft: Cameron Boozer (who is a lock), Patrick Ngongba and Isaiah Evans.
Evans' stock seems to be vacillating the most of the three. While some have him being selected somewhere in the 20s, others feel that he could slip all the way to the second round due to some serious question marks.
However, there is no doubting Evans' potential as a three-and-D wing on the NBA level, and Kyle Mann of The Ringer seems to believe that Evans' stock could rise between now and June.
In his most recent mock draft, Mann has Evans being selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 21st overall pick.
"I could see Evans rising as the predraft process unfolds, possibly even as high as the early 20s, as he does here to a team that could desperately use his combination of size and water-into-wine shotmaking to hydrate some of those dry spells that can occur when Cade Cunningham isn’t able to do everything all the time," Mann wrote.
Isaiah Evans. Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images.Evans averaged 15 points and 3.2 rebounds over 28.2 minutes per game on 43.3/36.1/86.0 shooting splits this past season.
Some have wondered if the sharpshooting swingman could potentially return to Duke for his junior campaign, but that seems rather unlikely.
"Thanks to the speed and height of his release, this 6-foot-6, deadeye, slinky man could prove to be an asset as a screener within the flow of Detroit’s actions; Evans could force defenders to make difficult decisions when he’s popping to the 3-point line and the Pistons’ stable of springy athletes is streaking to the rim," Mann added.
Evans definitely has obvious potential as a three-point marksman, but his perimeter shot could stand to be a bit more consistent.
His length and wingspan also provide him with the ability to develop into a terrific defender, but he will surely need to add some weight to his wiry frame to avoid getting bullied by bigger wings.
You kind of get the feeling that Evans has a wealth of untapped potential, but whether or not he ever actually realizes it is the question.
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