The five-star Duke basketball freshman has demonstrated the ability to shift a game’s momentum quickly.
Isaiah Evans has scored 17 points off the bench in back-to-back games for Jon Scheyer’s third Duke basketball team, as the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils (24-3, 15-1 ACC) attempt to continue their four-game winning run against Miami (6-21, 2-14 ACC) at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).
“Man, I could talk forever about Isaiah, how proud I am of him,” Scheyer said during his ACC media teleconference on Monday. “You know, he has never hesitated to shoot in his life. He’s really confident about that.
“What he has done, however, is become a really good defender. He’s gotten stronger as a result of his weight room work, including his ability to shift his feet, rebound, and position.
Before going 8-for-11 from beyond the arc in blowout victories over Syracuse and Illinois last week, the 6-foot-6, 175-pound Evans had never scored double-digit points in consecutive games as a Blue Devil.
The only other time Evans hit eight three-pointers in two games was in early December, when the Fayetteville, N.C. native went 6-for-8 to help Duke win 84-78 at home against now-No. 1 Auburn.
“He’s a two-way, big-time wing,” Scheyer said of Evans, who is now averaging 7.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in only 13.3 minutes while shooting a team-best 45.8 percent from downtown on 4.0 attempts a game. “So, when he’s in there, I’m completely confident in his abilities.
“I believe the offense is apparent. But on defense, he’s grown tremendously.
“It will lead to more minutes down the stretch. Just the role he plays for us is important, and he has earned it. He does that every day in practice, and I’m very pleased of him for his approach.”
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