Tyreke to Memphis a Done Deal?
Words. HShoop
With the announcement of Tyreke Evans‘ college choice at 3 PM tomorrow, news has leaked through sources close to Tyreke that he’s made the call to play for John Calipari at Memphis.
Even though Jay Wright recently guaranteed him that he wouldn’t play point guard at Villanova, given their platoon of Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher, word is that Evans was always going to be a Tiger.
“Coach Wright talks to Tyreke and Tyreke is happy to get his calls,” said the source, “but I think the people at Villanova feel he’s going to Memphis. They would love to have Tyreke, and Jay would be willing to maybe go with four guards. You have to go after a local star, that’s what a top-25 program like Villanova is supposed to do. But the feeling is that Tyreke was always going to wind up at Memphis.”
Another possible sign of “Too Easy’s” destination is that his teammate Lamont Jones is likely also going to play for Coach Cal. Jones reopened his recruiting after originally committing to Louisville, and seems headed for Memphis.
“When you’re recruiting Tyreke Evans, you’re recruiting his family, and that’s what Jay has done,” said one source close to the recruiting. “The Evans family really likes Jay and Jay really likes the family. That’s the one big plus Jay and Villanova have going for them. But look at everything, spell it all out, Tyreke fits perfectly at Memphis. Jay does a wonderful job with guards, but the run Memphis made in the NCAA Tournament and the situation that occurred with Tyreke back in November [when he witnessed a homicide that allegedly involved a cousin] will push him as far away from Chester as possible. At least that’s what the family wants. His three brothers want him to be safe. They’re also looking at what program will give him the most exposure and develop him into an NBA-caliber player.”
After watching Derrick Rose go from top recruit to probable Top 3 pick in the NBA draft, Evans has to be imagining himself in Rose’s shoes. The only issue for Evans at Memphis might be that he will be the most capable ball handler on the team. It will help if they get an LOI from Jones, but “Too Easy” might end up as the first, second and third options for Calipari on the offensive end without Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts or Joey Dorsey. At ‘Nova, he would have had Reynolds, Fisher, the new transfer Taylor King, Corey Stokes and Malcolm Grant to lend a hand.
Even so, it looks like he’s on his way to the FedEx Forum!
