Warriors Select Jacob Evans With No. 28 Pick in 2018 NBA Draft
The Warriors selected Cincinnati sophomore Jacob Evans with the No. 20 pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
As a four-star recruit, Evans chose Houston over Oklahoma State and Memphis. He spent his first season as a Bearcat coming off the bench, averaging 8.4 in 24.4 minutes per game.
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Evans broke out in his sophomore season, averaging 13.5 points as the Bearcats went 30-6 on the season. As a junior, Evans led the Bearcats to a 31-5 season, clinching the regular-season conference title and the AAC conference championship. The guard averaged 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists, leading his team in points and assists.
In a tournament filled with upsets, Evans' final college season was cut short in the second round by Nevada, which overcame a 22-point deficit to knock off the No. 2 seed Bearcats. Evans led his team with 19 points in the loss.
Jeremy Woo's grade: B+
The Warriors do a good job identifying quality role players, and while Evans doesn’t have great upside, he’s exactly what they need as a no-frills, defensive-minded wing player that can make open threes. He’s not a terrific scorer, but as we saw with Jordan Bell a year ago, Golden State tends to be a place where non-scorers flourish. Evans should be a natural fit here.
Our Jeremy Woo broke down his strength and weaknesses:
Strengths
• Good physical profile. Strong build allows him to match up with bigger wings or smaller guards. Athleticism should play on both ends of the floor.
• Committed defender. Understands team concepts. Career 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per-36. Should be able to make an impact on that end.
• Shot 39.4% from three over the last two seasons. Career 75% from the foul line. Has some promise as a floor-spacer.
Weaknesses
• Offensive impact comes and goes. Had a handful of dud games in conference play. When his jumper isn’t falling, hard for him to consistently score. Not a plus ballhandler.
• Sometimes looks like he’s muscling the ball up on his release. Shot can come out flat and hard. Needs to prove it translates to NBA range.
• Stands to be more aggressive at times. Can fade into the background of games for long stretches. Not going to be someone you throw the ball to looking for a basket.
