Evolution of Dwayne Evans Key to Success of Saint Louis

 

Dwayne Evans is peaking at the right time for the Saint Louis Billikens. The junior has 11 consecutive games of double-digit scoring, which conveniently coincides with the Billikens’ 11-game win streak.

SLU’s latest game was a 70-53 win over the Saint Joseph’s Hawks on Wednesday night. Evans finished that game with a team-high 21 points, 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season — all of which have come during the win streak. He finished 6 of 14 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line.

Aside from his solid scoring line, Evans’ 11 rebounds were especially impressive since he’s been spending less time in the post as a defensive presence. At 6-foot-5, Evans shouldn’t be banging with the trees anyway and this new-found guard play has allowed him to sneak into the paint because opponents are starting to respect his shot more. Evans hasn’t had a problem getting to the line this season, either, which makes his shooting even more of a weapon.

Now that Evans’ skills have been tapped into, the floor opens up a lot more for guys like Rob Loe, Mike McCall Jr. and Jordaire Jett.

Jett runs defenses ragged, McCall Jr. has the long-range game and Loe can also hit from deep but has the height to rebound — though his willingness to do so is sometimes suspect. All teams have at least one scorer, better teams have two and a select few have three. The Billikens? They have four.

Mike Gillmeister can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter:@mgillmeiRantCBB. Like his Facebook page here for updates on Big 12/A-1o men’s basketball.