Pacers Draft Options: Cincinnati Guard Jacob Evans

The Indiana Pacers will have plenty of options come Thursday’s draft. Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans could make an impact for Indiana right away.

Jacob Evans is coming off a stellar junior season for the Cincinnati Bearcats, and he seems to be a first-round lock on Thursday.

Evans is a versatile guard who can play both ends of the floor well. If he slides a little in the draft, he can be a great addition to the Pacers.

The junior guard led the Bearcats to a 31-5 record last season, which resulted in a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. He was named to the American Atheltic Conference’s First Team at the end of the season. In three season, Evans averaged 11.7 points and 2.5 assists.

Strengths

Evans takes care of the ball when in charge. He has shown the ability to find open teammates and make the right passes when necessary. His turnover rates are manageable, giving it away just 1.3 times per game.

Throughout the course of his career, Evans tallied 1.1 steals per game. In theory, nearly every time he gave the ball away, he got it back. He has solid size, standing 6-foot-5, but he is not imposing by any means. He will have to rely on his quickness to keep up on defense.

Evans was not a great shooter in college, but he still found ways to score. He averaged over 16 points per 40 minutes in three seasons despite .429/.377/.755 shooting splits.

The guard showed his clutch genes with this game-winner back in January:

When Evans gets cooking, he can be tough to stop.

Weaknesses

As I said earlier, Evans hasn’t been the best of shooters. His shooting numbers could use improvement in the NBA, but his ability to score is still impressive.

Evans lacks on the glass, tallying just 4.3 rebounds per game. As a guard/forward combo, Evans will need to be more aggressive when following shots. When he attacks the ball, things like this can happen:

There aren’t many weaknesses to Evans’ game. He just has to show more consistency, but the potential to be a 3 and D player is there.

Can the Pacers land Evans?

Evans is projected to land somewhere in the 20s on Thursday night. Bleacher Report’s most recent projections have him going 28th overall. That said, he will likely be on the board when Indiana is on the clock. Depending on how the board falls, Evans should be one of the best available, and Indiana would be wise to make him their first-round selection.

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Jacob Evans could be next in the long line of 3 and D players who aren’t highly touted in the draft. His collegiate numbers weren’t spectacular, but he led his team to a great season and earned the respect of his peers. A consistent jump shot will take the guard to a whole new level in the NBA.