
Former Duke basketball star Isaiah Evans' stock is still staying put as a first-round pick in the latest ESPN mock draft.
The Duke Blue Devils have been a staple in the NBA Draft for years, including several top picks or lottery picks. After last year's draft produced Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, the Blue Devils are looking to replicate that and earn a few more first-round picks.
We know that it's expected that Cam Boozer goes in the top four come June's draft, but his teammate Isaiah Evans should also find himself in the first round.
Evans played two seasons at Duke before entering the NBA Draft and now the sharpshooter is hoping to hear his name called early.
Isaiah Evans lands in first round of new ESPN mock draft
With the NBA wrapping up the draft lottery on Sunday afternoon, we know most of the first-round order. With that, Jeremy Woo of ESPN wasted no time putting out his mock draft.
In his updated mock draft, Woo has Evans going in the first round but to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 23 overall:
Evans has the makings of a quality wing shooter, with good positional size and the ability to hit tough shots off movement. He took a leap this season with an expanded role at Duke and has starter-level upside if he can be more consistent. He needs to better apply his tools defensively, but he displayed some growth on that end this season.
Adding more perimeter shooting would be beneficial for the Hawks as they continue to build around the rising Jalen Johnson. They don't have a clear positional need beyond adding a long-term point guard -- something they might be able to do in the lottery -- and can consider several directions with this second pick.
Atlanta would be a very interesting spot for Evans. They are a team that decided to move on from Trae Young and still made a run to the playoffs.
Adding a young sharpshooter like Evans at guard would be huge for them. Getting that perimeter threat could be a big difference maker.
The 20-year-old averaged 15 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field. Evans could poentially be the steal of the draft come June.


