Class of 2020 NCAA Basketball recruit Che Evans has two SEC and two Big 12 programs on his finalist list.
This edition of the NCAA Basketball Daily Recruiting notebook will look at several 2020 and 2021 prospects that have drawn interest from the Arkansas Razorbacks. This includes Che Evans, who recently revealed his final seven list, along with Cameron Thomas, and Justin Powell among others.
2020 consensus three-plus star Che Evans has switched up his finalist list recently. Four months after announcing a top-six school list, Evans is now looking hard at seven programs, per Ryan McMullen of Zagsblog. He is down to Arkansas, Boise State, Florida, Ohio State, San Diego State, TCU, and Texas Tech. San Diego State and Arkansas are the new additions to his list while he is no longer considering UCLA.
Evans has taken an official visit to Boise State (Nov. 2) and two unofficial visits to Ohio State and TCU. He is slated to take an official visit to Arkansas from June 8-9 and could take one to San Diego State in the near future.
Evans is a 6’5″ athletic wing with a scorer’s mentality as he can put the ball in the basket a number of ways, although he is at his best when he gets to the basket whether in transition or in the halfcourt. Evans also possesses good handles and is a capable shooter. However, he does need to work on his offensive versatility and shooting range as well as finishing through contact.
The Baltimore native is all over the rankings among the top scouting services. Evans is considered a four-star prospect by 247Sports and 247Sports Composite, however, there is a wide disparity between those rankings as 247Sports has him ranked at No. 86 in the country while 247Sports Composite list him at 136. Rivals also have him as a four-star prospect at No. 77 while ESPN has him as a three-star prospect and outside their top-100 overall.
Evans will play for Neuman-Goretti (Philadelphia, PA) this upcoming high school season after playing this past campaign at Dulaney High School (Timonium, MD).
Breaking down Evans’ list
Arkansas: The Razorbacks are a little late to the party as they didn’t get involved until after Eric Musselman took over the program. Musselman offered Evans a scholarship offer after seeing him play in a Nike EYBL event in late April. As it stands now, Arkansas is projected to have just two scholarships available for 2020 with 17 open offers. Wings seem to be their biggest need.
San Diego State: The Aztecs also got involved late. SDSU is projected to have five spots available and nine open offers. Shooting guard/small forward does not appear to be a major area of need at this point. Third-year coach Brian Dutcher is 43-24 during his tenure with the program and has done a good job in developing Malik Pope and Jaden McDaniels into potential NBA players.
Boise State: Evans said he loved how coach Leon Rice and Chris Acker made him feel on his official visit. He added that he also loved the way they developed Chandler Hutchinson into an NBA player. Boise State went just 13-20 this past season but the Broncos is 178-116 under Rice, who has won 20 or more games in seven of his nine seasons and has reached the NCAA tournament twice. Boise St. is projected to have five open roster spots next season with the wing being a semi position of need. Evans would have one-year to play alongside with Arizona transfer Emmanuel Akot.
Florida: Gators head coach Mike White is very good at developing guards. The Gators have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three years and are 190-93 under White. UF currently only has two available scholarships for 2020 at this point and 49 open offers. The wing position is seemingly a position of need.
Ohio State: Evans said he was impressed with the Buckeyes during his unofficial visit and believes he fits well in Chris Holtmann’s system. Ohio State, which has made the NCAA tournament in each of the last two years, may only have two scholarships in 2020 available and 19 open spots. Wing is a position of need, although the Buckeyes are in pursuit of several other shooting guards/small forward.
TCU: Assistant coach Ryan Miller has been pursuing Evans since his freshman campaign and he said that he enjoyed his unofficial visit. The Horned Frogs are projected to have one scholarship available in 2020 and are pursuing a lot of other wings.
Texas Tech: Evans has said that coach Chris Beard and his staff have reached out to him several times. The Red Raiders will have at least two scholarships available for next year and could use to add a quality wing.
Projections: I believe that Arkansas, San Digo State, Boise State, and Texas Tech are the leaders for Evans service. I also believe Florida is a wildcard. But if I had to currently list the order it would be 1. Arkansas 2. Boise State 3. Texas Tech 4. San Digo St. 5. Florida 6. Ohio State 7. TCU.
Arkansas offers five-star Cameron Thomas
The Arkansas Razorbacks recently offered a scholarship to 2020 five-star Cameron Thomas. The 6’3″ shooting guard is coming off an excellent Nike EYBL session in Dallas (May 24-26) where he led the tournament in scoring with 32.6 points a game as he topped the 40-point mark twice. Thomas also added 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals in five games.
Thomas is a highly touted combo guard who is long, athletic and quick. He is excellent with the ball in his hands and is an effective driver while also possessing an efficient mid-range game. The Oak Hill Prep (Va.) product also has shown potential as a defender due to his instincts and the ability to move laterally.
A consensus top-25 prospect, the Chesapeake (Va.) native is rated as the 21st best prospect in the class by 247Sports, 23rd by 247Sports Composite, 20th by ESPN and 22nd by Rivals. He holds 18 offers which include 13 from power-7 programs — including LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Florida, North Carolina State, Oregon, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Connecticut, Penn State. While Thomas does not have an official list, NC State is considered to be pretty much a lock to secure his services. But stay tuned to see if things change as the early signing period is not until mid-Nov.
Razorbacks to host a number of 2021 prospects shortly
Five players, all from Team Griffin16U AAU Club, are expected to visit the Fayetteville campus. Trey Alexander (Oklahoma City, OK), Jaxson Robinson (Ada, OK), Daimion Collins (Atlanta, TX) and KJ Adams(Austin, TX). Alexander, a four-star 6’3″ shooting guard, Robinson, a four-star shooting guard, and Collins, a four-star 6’9 big man, all hold offers from Arkansas. However, Adams, a four-star 6’6″ small forward, and Bijan Cortes (Kingsfisher, OK) do not currently hold an offer from the Hogs. Adams does hold nine offers overall while Cortes has drawn interest from major programs.
Hogs getting involved with 2020 prospect Justin Powell
2020 four-star prospect Justin Powell said on June 1 that he was being recruited by the Razorbacks.
I’ve heard from Coach [Chris] Crutchfield,“ Powell said. “We have texted a little bit, just getting to know each other.“
The 6’5” shooting guard is seen as a four-star prospect by ESPN and a three-star prospect by 247Sports and 247Sports Composite.
While the Goshen (KY) native has not received an offer from Arkansas he has received overtures from a number of power five schools including Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Georgia Tech and Cincinnati. He has also reportedly drawn interest from Indiana, Kentucky, Syracuse, Purdue, and Ohio State. He is expected to be at Indiana for a campus visit soon.
Powell is a big versatile guard who can play the 1-3. Known as a shooter, he has the ability to create off the dribble and is a good facilitator.
Powell had a very good early EYBL season, averaging 13.2 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and 55 percent from behind the three-point line. He also added 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 26.8 minutes per game.