Quietly, Evans goes about his business for the Cowboys
Brad Underwood fully values Jawun Evans’ basketball skills, and they are varied and many.
And frankly, Oklahoma State likely wouldn’t be here, back in the NCAA Tournament, without him.
Yet the buckets and the assists and the running floaters over defenders that always seem to find net aren’t what most strikes the Cowboys coach.
“Of all the things he does on the court, I’ll remember the smile more than anything,” Underwood said. “That and his willingness to want to be coached. I’ll think of that with Jawun more than anything else, not a move or a pass, and there’s a lot of those, but his uniqueness is his charm and his smile.”
The smile is real, and it’s wide and engaging and disarming.
And it’s a weapon in and of itself, one that makes him doubly dangerous.
“Jawun really is a silent assassin,” said teammate Jeffrey Carroll. “He’s not known for celebrating. I get into it.
After a dunk, I’ll scream. Or after a 3, I’ll do a celebration.
“But he’ll knock it down and get back on defense like it’s no big deal.”
Evans is a big deal – the big deal – as Oklahoma State heads into a Friday NCAA Tournament clash with Michigan in Indianapolis.
Great guard play still wins in the tournament. In that, the Cowboys should be well equipped, with Evans and Carroll and Phil Forte consistently carrying their team on the offensive end.
Yet it’s Evans who makes it all go, whether scoring or facilitating, placing him in the crosshairs of OSU’s hopes to advance deeper into March.
The sophomore point guard ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.0 per game, so he knows how to go get his points. And he has a knack for knowing when to go get them. Over the past 14 games, involving 10 wins, Evans averaged 5.9 points in the final five minutes; shooting 62.9 percent from the floor and 86.8 percent from the line.
But he also led the league at 6.2 assists per game, meaning he gets his teammates theirs, too.
“They make my job easy, I make their job easy,” Evans said. “I love making these guys better. They make me better also. We go hand in hand with each other.”
A first team All-Big 12 pick and a third team AllAmerican by several outlets, Evans is one of just four players nationally among the power conferences to average at least 16 points and six assists in league play.
“In my eyes, he’s the best point guard in the nation,” Carroll said. “For our team, he does so many things that we need. His vision is crazy. How he can attack the basket. And the way he scores. And he’ll guard.
“He’s more locked in right now than I’ve seen. These last few weeks, he’s been on a tear. I’m confident he’ll keep it going.”
The Cowboys need him to keep it going.
OSU carries a threegame losing streak into Friday’s game, through no fault of Evans. He went for 29 points at Iowa State, 22 (and 15 assists) at home against Kansas and 29 more against the Cyclones again at the Big 12 Tournament.
That’s a combined three losses against the champs: the regular-season champion Jayhawks, and the conference tournament title-holding Cyclones – teams that offset Evans with elite point guards of their own. So escaping the Big 12 offers a fresh appeal.
Not that things get much easier with Michigan, which features Big Ten Tournament MVP Derrick Walton Jr. at the point.
Still, Evans projects to have the edge. And given an edge, except for a brief, uncharacteristic stretch of struggle in early January, he’s been an elevating presence for the Cowboys, directing an offense that ranks No. 1 nationally in offensive efficiency, according to advanced metrics analyst Ken Pomeroy.
“Jawun has an innate ability,” Underwood said. “He has the right character, the right personality. He’s got all the tools, but he’s also got a personality that’s a very giving and very caring teammate.
“You’ve got to have that. And that’s what makes him great. It’s the difference between good and great. He’s got that gift.”
Speculation swirls that Evans could toss his name in the NBA Draft after this season, so his days in an OSU uniform could be numbered. He – and the Cowboys – hope that’s an extended number, although Evans prefers not to discuss his options yet.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said. “I’m just going out here playing hard with these guys, having fun, hoping to get wins.”
The Cowboys are happily along for the ride.
“I think he’s going to have a big moment for this team in the tournament,” Carroll said. “I can’t wait to watch it.”