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Oklahoma State basketball: Jawun Evans departs for NBA Draft

By Doug Winkey

Feb 28, 2017; Ames, IA, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) plays defense against the Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones beat the Cowboys 86 to 83. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2017; Ames, IA, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) plays defense against the Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones beat the Cowboys 86 to 83. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma State basketball has to find their point guard of the future after Jawun Evans announced he is leaving for the NBA.

Oklahoma State is now in a tough position to replace both their coach and best player. Brad Underwood is off to Illinois after losing his first NCAA Tournament game in Stillwater. Sophomore Jawun Evans is now gone as well. The Cowboy floor general will sign with an agent and head to the NBA, per Jon Rothstein.

This is a big blow for OSU. Evans was incredible this year while averaging 19.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. He was named First Team All-Big 12 this season and was one of the three best point guards in the entire league. He will have a great shot at a first round NBA Draft pick considering his ceiling and production against some of the nation’s best programs. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to the Cowboy faithful.

The question is now who replaces him. Freshman Brandon Averette backed Evans up much of the year and averaged 5.2 points. Averette was also a good outside shooter at 45 percent, but only attempted 22 threes and is undersized at 5’11”. Thomas Dziagwa could also have a shot after averaging 3.3 points in just under seven minutes a night.

Those two are fine backups, but the real battle should be between potential recruits Zack Dawson and Amauri Hardy. Dawson is the gem of the current four-man class as a four-star point from Miami. He stands 6’4″, 180 pounds and comes in as the 68th best player on ESPN. Many high-level programs wanted him and he should have the inside track to start. Hardy is a three-star guy from Michigan, but is slightly smaller (6’1″, 175) and doesn’t project the same ceiling.

Next: Brad Underwood bails on Cowboys

The coaching search affects the program’s recruiting momentum, but the next head coach has options if he can retain any combination of Dawson, Hardy, Averette, and Dziagwa. Losing Evans is a tough blow for an already-reeling program, but OSU can recover if they get the right head coach.

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