Evans on pace for a complete game

Neuqua Valley’s Dwayne Evans is by far no finished product.

What you see of his game today will likely look a whole different even in a year’s time. While he’s already proven he’s one of the state’s premier forwards, Evans’ evolution from an inside presence to a perimeter one continues.

When it’s all said and done, the 6-6 junior is expected to be the complete package. So far, he’s steadily improving.

“Just every aspect has gotten a little bit better,” Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said. “His passing is a getting a little better. His shot is getting a little better. His ball handling is getting a little better. His defense is improving.”

Right now as Evans transforms his game, Illinois Warriors AAU coach Larry Butler doesn’t even like to classify what he is.

“I try to stay away from positions with him,” Butler said. “He can rebound, block shots, can run the floor, has a great attitude. He has a great upside. He’s a combo. Dwayne Evans is an excellent player right now. He’s all-around. He’s very efficient. He can score.”

Opponents have had to endure that. With every game he fine-tunes his outside shot, ball handling and all-around perimeter skills, opposing defenses must work that much harder to stop him. Just ask Bolingbrook which had 23 points dropped on it in a variety of ways by him earlier this season.

“Colleges look for versatility,” Evans said. “I consider myself a 3-4. If I get a bigger guy on me, I can take him outside and try to dribble drive. If they put a smaller guy on me, I can post him up. It makes me harder to guard. I think the whole thing is part of my game, part of my arsenal.”

Heading into the year, it was expected that Evans was going to have to put up massive numbers all the time for the Wildcats to be a contender. To Sutton’s surprise, others have stepped up and made Neuqua Valley a balanced machine.

Because Evans doesn’t need to go off for the Wildcats to win, he doesn’t. He contributes his near double-double (14 points, nine points) every night, and Neuqua Valley has won 17 in a row and compiled a 25-1 record.

Plus, few people may know it, but Evans loves to pass the ball. He’s just as happy to record an assist than a basket.

“I have no problem giving the ball up to them,” he said. “If those guys are clicking, it makes the whole job easier.”

Evans has had only a few eye-popping games like Bolingbrook; he’s done more of it in specific quarters when Neuqua Valley has required a boost.

He had 11 points and six rebounds in the opening quarter against Bartlett. He had 12 points in the third quarter against Waubonsie Valley. He had eight points in the decisive fourth quarter to beat Glenbrook South in the Elgin tournament championship. He scored 13 points in the fourth quarter against Zion-Benton.

“I know my team is looking for me to step up,” Evans said. “I try to put them on my back. Stepping up in those situations is amazing. That’s what the game is all about it. During it, the intense pressure gets to you.

"I can’t take all the credit for our late heroics because we play great as a team in the final two minutes. But whenever my team really needs me to step up, I like to think I can do it.”

Colleges do like what they see in him. He mentioned Illinois State, Kent State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Southern Illinois, Wagner and Western Michigan as some of the schools recruiting him. If he can build that outside game along with his already stellar inside one, more schools will surely follow.

“Right now I think Dwayne Evans is a perfect mid-major prospect,” City-Suburban Hoops Report’s Joe Henricksen said. “We will see how he progresses this spring and summer. I like that he gets the most out of his abilities.

"He's a bit of a throwback, nothing flashy, a meat and potatoes guy. Has a nice inside-outside package, with the ability to get things done around the basket as well as getting better and more consistent with his perimeter shot. He takes what the defense gives him.

“He will have to be a 3 at the next level and is still getting comfortable putting it on the floor and being effective getting to the basket," Henricksen added. "While a good athlete, he lacks that sheer explosiveness.”

What Sutton loves about Evans’ game is his consistency.

“Every day is about the same,” he said. "You don’t get any roller-coaster rides from him. Same thing every night.”

And it’s just a matter of time that that same thing gets better, too.