Evans makes it official
Inside Tulsa Sports broke the news of junior college forward Lew Evans' commitment to Tulsa back on November 13, and a week later, he signed his National Letter of Intent with the Golden Hurricane.
The 6-9, 225-pound freshman at Casper (Wyo.) Community College will have three years of eligibility at TU.
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"Lew will be a very good addition to our program," said Tulsa Head Coach Danny Manning. "His skill set fits into what we want to do as a basketball team. Lew is a post player that is capable of playing inside and outside on the perimeter.
"We know he will be well-prepared for Division I basketball playing for Coach (Joel) Davidson and Coach (Dan) Russell at Casper College. I've known Lew's family for a while. He's a good kid, and he'll fit our program to a 'T'."
Manning knows Evans' family due to recruiting trips to New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire last year, where Evans averaged 10 points and six rebounds for the Huskies.
"I really like Tulsa, and I knew Coach Manning last year at my prep school," Evans explained. "He was up there a lot recruiting. Coach Manning is a good guy, and I know he is going to do an awesome job at Tulsa.
"They told me that I would fit in because I can stretch the defense and shoot it from three. They also told me the successful teams they had at Kansas had someone that could do that."
Before his year at prep school, Evans graduated from Salt Lake City (Utah) Highland High School. As a senior, he earned first-team Utah Class 4A All-State accolades after he led his team to the 2011 Utah Class 4A State Championship, averaging 15 points and nine rebounds.
As a junior, Evans earned second-team all-state honors after averaging 10 points and six rebounds, and leading his team to a third-place finish in the state playoffs. He was honorable mention all-state and third-team all-region as a sophomore, when he averaged seven points and five rebounds at Highland High.
"He can do just about everything and is a very smart defender for his size," said Casper coach Joel Davidson. "He does a great job rebounding and shooting the ball and that's what we need him to do for us."
Evans chose Tulsa over offers from New Hampshire, Vermont and Hartford. He also had strong interest from Texas Tech, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Bradley, Idaho State, Portland State, San Francisco, Wyoming, Colorado State and CS Fullerton.
"Just the relationship with the coaching staff and the players, then everything else was just a plus," Evans said of picking the Golden Hurricane. "That program is going in the right direction."
Manning's track record of producing quality big men as an assistant coach at Kansas was also a factor in Evans' decision.
"Yes, that did play a role, because every big man that he has coached at Kansas has been successful," he added.
Evans received his scholarship offer from Tulsa after making an unofficial visit there on November 11.
"My visit to Tulsa was awesome, it was really good," he described. "The team and coaches are awesome. I watched them play and saw what they did and how I could fit in. The campus and facilities are really nice. I was surprised, and the basketball gym is awesome."
Evans was the first signee for Tulsa in the 2013 class, but he will be joined on Wednesday by 6-5 shooting guard Stevie Repichowski of Des Moines (Iowa) Kingdom Prep. Repichowski committed to Tulsa back in early November.
The Hurricane will have two remaining scholarships for the spring signing period, which begins in April.