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07 August 2007


Tyreke sets a date

posted by Pete @ LetsGoNova.com
8/07/2007 11:57:00 PM
Tyreke Evans has set a date for his much-awaited decision on where to attend college next fall.

Evans, the highly-recruited superstar guard, will announce his decision on Monday, November 12.

It's my understanding that the story first broke on the Villanova Rivals site; unfortunately I cannot link there, since the site follows the archaic model of forcing people to pay for news and information.

Luckily, Card Chronicle also runs the story, and doesn't want your credit card number.

Tyreke's leaders remain Villanova and Lousiville, with Memphis on the outside looking in. Texas and Connecticut are, at this point, extremely remote possibilities.

Tyreke's comments come one day after an excellent Sports Illustrated article devoted to his summer resurgence back to the ranks of a program-changing, elite talent.

SI's Kevin Armstrong reveals the fascinating fact that Tyreke has been hanging around Villanova, playing pickup basketball with some of 'Nova's best players off campus:

[Tyreke] is back in Pennsylvania, playing pick-up games at Villanova's off-campus practice gym against former Wildcats like Mike Nardi and Kyle Lowry as well as current guard Scottie Reynolds


Anyone else dying to see Reynolds hooping it up with Tyreke? Increasingly, it looks like we will have that chance.

If I were forced to assign odds at this very moment about Tyreke's eventual destination, this is my best guess:

Villanova: 50%
Louisville: 40%
Memphis: 5%
Everywhere else: 5%


More information should trickle in the rest of the summer, but it looks like Wildcats fans will have to wait till November before any official word is given.

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5 Comments:

At 8:02 AM, August 12, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

honestly, i think that you are underrating the odds of Tyreke going to Memphis. It is much higher than 5%.

 
At 3:54 PM, August 12, 2007, Blogger pete said...

fair enough... what would you say it is?

 
At 2:25 AM, August 14, 2007, Blogger greyCat said...

Hi Pete,
What I've heard lately here and there is that (as you reported) he will announce around LOI Week, just in front of the High School season. He will take official visits to his 5 choices (Louisville, Villanova, Memphis, Connecticut and Texas). He also has a unofficial visit scheduled for Seton Hall next week.

The Evans brothers are very gracious and agreeable with the press wherever they go. Which makes getting a read on how he really feels very difficult. I am sure they will do everything they can to build a turnout for his announcement. Louisville and Villanova have been on his list very long, but where he will decide to go is anyone's guess right now. He would look great in Blue and White though.

 
At 8:38 PM, August 20, 2007, Blogger The Voice said...

pete, I was the one with the anonymous comment. I haven't check back at the page for a while, but the reason I think you have underestimated his chances of going to Memphis probably isn't the most factually sound statement. I take a great interest in all Villanova athletics, including basketball, and though I know you have a better grasp on recruiting news and thinks of the like I can only offer one article that has placed this thought in my mind. I know that one source is never enough, but this was a well written article and although Tyreke Evans was just mentioned as an afterthought the man whom the article is written about, William "Wes" Wesley, seems very compelling. The article is long and here are the important parts though I will leave the link at the end of my comment if you want to check it all out. It is entitled "Is This The Most Powerful Man In Sports?" and is written by Alex French and appeared in GQ.

"The Nike Super 6, a mid-January extravaganza of high school hoops staged at the World’s Most Famous Arena, is exactly the type of event that Wes marks on his calendar. It’s a chance for the next generation of superstars to put their talent on display in front of a crowd of thousands. Rick Pitino is here. Rumor is that John Calipari is in attendance. And Wes is here, too, seated courtside between a man named Reggie Evans and Eric Goodwin, the muscle-bound brother of LeBron’s former agent, Aaron Goodwin. It’s surreal to see Wes sitting next to Goodwin; by all accounts he loathes Wes. Between games, Wes mockingly waves to me.

This afternoon’s main attraction is one Derrick Rose, a six-foot-three-inch blisteringly fast point guard from Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy. Journalists and insiders who have followed Rose’s career also noted Wes’s presence on the sideline of Derrick’s AAU games last summer. Rose’s college choices came down to Memphis, Illinois, and Indiana. One journalist told me, “When I saw the list, I knew Derrick was going to Memphis.” The prediction was correct.

When I talk to John Calipari, he says it makes sense that Wes would recommend Memphis to Derrick Rose. “It’s the right fit,” he tells me, and then adds, “Wes is a goodwill ambassador to our program.”

In addition to Rose, another of Wes’s “nephews” is showcasing his talents this afternoon: Tyreke Evans, Reggie Evans’s brother. Scouting service Rivals.com ranks Evans among the best juniors in the country. It’s easy to see why: Even when he’s warming up, Tyreke has a stunning array of pull-up jumpers and fallaway jumpers and leaners and floaters. At one point, Tyreke stops to show Wes some love. By the fall, Tyreke will decide on a college, maybe UNC, U Conn, Louisville, Villanova, or Memphis.

Tyreke was 12 when Que Gaskins took notice of him at a basketball tournament. His coach hardly let him play, so Que and Allen Iverson started an AAU team called the Raiders. And Tyreke was the star. When his brother Reggie started believing the hype that Tyreke was NBA material, Que reached out to Wes: “They had so many people coming at them, and they were so green. They needed somebody who had the wisdom, a surrogate uncle who wouldn’t have any vested interest in seeing Tyreke succeed or fail—would just do it out of love.” Wes said to Que, “Send him to me. You know Uncle Wes got it.”

“I like to call Wes a school without walls,” Que says. He describes Wes connecting young players with their role models, guys like A.I. and LeBron. “They’ve already gone down that path. They’ve already made a lot of the mistakes that a kid like Tyreke is going to make. He gets the truth directly from their mouth. What kid wouldn’t be motivated? What kid wouldn’t want to work hard?”

Tyreke dominates the second half of the game, finishing with thirty-three points and six assists. It’s a good day for Wes’s nephews, and there are better days to come. Chances are good that a year from now, after one season at Memphis, Derrick Rose will be an NBA lottery pick. And a year after that, Tyreke Evans will follow suit. For now, though, Tyreke stands at center court, gripping his MVP plaque, trying not to blink at the flashbulbs. Wes stands five feet out on the court in a circle of people. A few feet away, Reggie Evans stands on the Garden floor, too, with his hands in his pockets, taking in the moment. Wes drapes an arm over Reggie’s shoulder and pulls him closer. I think I can read Wes’s lips: “Come here. There’s somebody I want you to meet.” "

full article: http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5735

 
At 8:45 PM, August 20, 2007, Blogger The Voice said...

Once again, I realize this doesn't mean Memphis is a lock--that's not what I was saying. I feel like you may have represented Nova and L'ville as locks for front runners while neglecting other college basketball superpowers. I also understand (as I earlier pointed out) that you have a better grasp on the facts than I do. I just want to point you in the direction of an article that compelled me and made me re-examine the Tyreke Evans situation. The article was written months ago, things change. Also, the other day I got a facebook invite to join a group saying if we get Tyreke Evans we'll be national champions. While he is a great player, I feel like we have a great team already. I would love to have him aboard, but I didn't join the group. I'm not saying I'm not sold on him--I'm saying I'm not sure he is sold on any one team yet. Although he has set a November 12th date for his decision, I'm sure he'll still be thinking/second-guessing himself on November 11th. I feel like last year on campus it was almost a foregone conclusion that Tyreke Evans would come to Villanova too. I didn't know who he was but I accepted it as fact. I looked into the situation a little more and realized that he has plenty of options and he is really good. So good that you can never be sure. I feel like the sentiment on campus (maybe it was just my own personal reaction or experience) is misled and that your odds and the facebook group do not contribute to the problem, but rather empower it. I am a huge fan of the blog and I feel like I'm on the defensive right now before I've been called out for my comments, but I'm just saying how I feel. That being said, if he comes, great if not I think we can win a championship this year or the next and years to come. Nothing is for certain in recruiting other than I trust Jay Wright will put the best recruits together for the best team we can have on the court. Believing and knowing that, I am fine with whatever happens.
Thanks.
David Mazzuca
2010

 

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