Sean Evans

http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=290770257

That Richmond game was ridiculous in more ways than one. But lets focus on Sean Evans, he had 25 points,12-13 from the field and 11 boards. I hope this is just the beginning for Evans and he comes out with a chip on his shoulder this season. What kind of numbers do you think he puts up in Big East play this year?

What was a shame was most of those points occured in the first half and in the 2nd we barely got him the rock.

I do think Sean can be a consistent double double threat.

Realistically he still going to get most of his points off of hustle.

12ppg 8rpg (3 offensive per game) is something that can be attained. I'd like to see Sean get a few more steals and blocked shots though he has the quickness and athletic ability to be a better defender.

More of the same from Sean. I like his motor. We need other teams to respect our outside game...that would open things up down low for Justin and Sean. Teams know they can just pack it down.

More steals, maybe, if he shores up his defensive skill and doesn't defend on just hustle.  The rebounds... I don't know.  When Kennedy's on the floor, the other players let him get the boards.  Sean should be a defensive glass cleaner, but so should Burrell...

More steals, maybe, if he shores up his defensive skill and doesn't defend on just hustle.  The rebounds... I don't know.  When Kennedy's on the floor, the other players let him get the boards.  Sean should be a defensive glass cleaner, but so should Burrell...

Most of Seans steals came from jumping passing lanes rather than defending on the post or double teams. I think if Sean could get some more steals within the paint to go along with his jumping the gap on the swing pass then it would be a big boost defensively.

Amazingly, what gets in Sean's way is free throws.
There were games like Cincy where he could have really saved us, but his shot just isn't there.

He's got to return this fall with a free throw stroke.

Quote from: peter on June 03, 2009, 03:24:22 PM

More steals, maybe, if he shores up his defensive skill and doesn't defend on just hustle.  The rebounds... I don't know.  When Kennedy's on the floor, the other players let him get the boards.  Sean should be a defensive glass cleaner, but so should Burrell...

Most of Seans steals came from jumping passing lanes rather than defending on the post or double teams. I think if Sean could get some more steals within the paint to go along with his jumping the gap on the swing pass then it would be a big boost defensively.

True; I think if his post defense was better, he'd get a few more steals.  He's one guy who I think has room to improve, especially on defense.

  Not trying to nit-pick or anything on Sean.  he has been a pleasant suprise and wish we had 12 guys that had that heart/motor.   as far as what he needs to work on:
  1.  Free Throws-  goes without saying
  2.  Ball handling-   lots of TOs
  3.  Passing.   seems everytime sean gets the ball he puts his head down and trys to steam-roll his opponent.  I'd love to see him dish to an open teammate once in a while.

  I think this team  seemed a bit selfish at times last year.  With Sean and DJ being the biggest culprits.  took many tough shots on their own when a teammate was wide open.   just my opinion

  Not trying to nit-pick or anything on Sean.  he has been a pleasant suprise and wish we had 12 guys that had that heart/motor.   as far as what he needs to work on:
  1.  Free Throws-  goes without saying
  2.  Ball handling-   lots of TOs
  3.  Passing.   seems everytime sean gets the ball he puts his head down and trys to steam-roll his opponent.  I'd love to see him dish to an open teammate once in a while.

  I think this team  seemed a bit selfish at times last year.  With Sean and DJ being the biggest culprits.  took many tough shots on their own when a teammate was wide open.   just my opinion

Very good post...

As for ball handling..   why is the world is Sean Evans, the starting center, handling the ball so much..? It absolutely astonished me at times last year.

  Not trying to nit-pick or anything on Sean.  he has been a pleasant suprise and wish we had 12 guys that had that heart/motor.   as far as what he needs to work on:
  1.  Free Throws-  goes without saying
  2.  Ball handling-   lots of TOs
  3.  Passing.   seems everytime sean gets the ball he puts his head down and trys to steam-roll his opponent.  I'd love to see him dish to an open teammate once in a while.

  I think this team  seemed a bit selfish at times last year.  With Sean and DJ being the biggest culprits.  took many tough shots on their own when a teammate was wide open.   just my opinion

I don't mind Sean Dribbling the ball but like you said he doesn't pass the ball. So a lot of times when Sean would drive the ball defenses would collapse on him hard so I'd like Sean to improve his decision making and forsight of plays. I think a lot of his turnovers were due to mental mistakes rather than physical. FT's of course is a given.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on DJ though. I don't think he tried to do too much with the ball and he was a good distributor.

Just because Sean plays center doesn't mean he can't use his dribble to get to the right spot; I don't think Norm wants a one-move, back to basket center type in the middle.  I think.  I am not completely sure what he's trying to run some of the time.

I think DJ did try to look for his shot more than I would like.  His aggressiveness was useful, though it would work better if he had Mason's skills (put the two of them together and you have a really good player).  Sometimes he took up parts of the possession just looking to probe; I think it killed the flow a little.  It was kind of like how Mase took up possessions dribbling for his shot when his teammates were all freshmen.

Note: don't take that as an indictment/ worry about Kennedy + Mase next year.  They did not play like that against Boston College; if anything, I remember a lot of ill-advised, perhaps too quick shots.  With another player who can get a shot up on the floor, maybe both will more quickly see when they have a chance to score and when they do not, and pass it up; Mason knew in 2008 that he was the only scoring option on a team that couldn't score.  Other years, he's not been as hungry for his shot.

he would have put up at least 12 or 13, but he missed free throws. Against Cincy i watched him miss 8 i think. He also needs to make better decisions with the ball.

Still, he hustles, he plays strong, and he did show significant improvement after his freshman season.

There are so many areas he needs to work on, but you can see the potential to put up 18 and 10 as a senior.

Just because Sean plays center doesn't mean he can't use his dribble to get to the right spot; I don't think Norm wants a one-move, back to basket center type in the middle.  I think.  I am not completely sure what he's trying to run some of the time.

Peter you are right but we both know Sean, very often, was not dribbleing to get to the right spot. Far too often he was getting a rebound and attempting to push the break. For everytime it worked it probably didn't work 5x. He needs to learn to immediately look for his point guard or wing immediately to get transition started more effectively. He is very athletic and would be much better served getting the ball to a ball handler and then filling lanes or trailing for secondary break. (I wonder if Norm even talks secondary break with these kids..?)

Quote from: peter on June 04, 2009, 10:23:18 AM

Just because Sean plays center doesn't mean he can't use his dribble to get to the right spot; I don't think Norm wants a one-move, back to basket center type in the middle.  I think.  I am not completely sure what he's trying to run some of the time.

Peter you are right but we both know Sean, very often, was not dribbleing to get to the right spot. Far too often he was getting a rebound and attempting to push the break. For everytime it worked it probably didn't work 5x. He needs to learn to immediately look for his point guard or wing immediately to get transition started more effectively. He is very athletic and would be much better served getting the ball to a ball handler and then filling lanes or trailing for secondary break. (I wonder if Norm even talks secondary break with these kids..?)

Him pushing the break often worked. On the other hand him driving the lane didn't work often because it either resulted in a turnover, missed layup(no foul called), or 2 missed FT resulting in a possession which netted 0 points. I'd say this happened more along the 5 out of the 6 times you mentioned.

The kid plays hard and is easy to root for! With that being said Evans would be an AWESOME 6-8 man on even a very good BE team! He is not and really should not be a starting BE center. If this team is ever to really have a shot at making a NCAA tourney Burrell has to play MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better, harder and smarter! Justin is the only legit BE big man, talent wise anyway on this roster!!!

Sean needs to work on his footwork/coordination and his shooting.  He also needs to get about five or six moves and work on them unti he is just doing it off of muscle memory.  He needs to drop his hips on his dribble drives, but I don't expect the staff to pick up on that.

He should be doing a minimum of 30 minutes a day of jumping rope and footwork drills.  Obviously a bunch of FT's as well.

The kid plays hard and is easy to root for! With that being said Evans would be an AWESOME 6-8 man on even a very good BE team! He is not and really should not be a starting BE center. If this team is ever to really have a shot at making a NCAA tourney Burrell has to play MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better, harder and smarter! Justin is the only legit BE big man, talent wise anyway on this roster!!!

I disagree... Sean has talent as well. IMO... Sean's talent is more raw than Justin's. However, Sean has just as much "Potential". Sean used his physical gifts more than Justin last year by being more aggressive than Justin.

In Justin's defense... I am hoping that it was the mask that kept him from being aggressive and this year it will be a whole different story with him.

Quote from: we are sju on June 04, 2009, 11:29:08 AM

The kid plays hard and is easy to root for! With that being said Evans would be an AWESOME 6-8 man on even a very good BE team! He is not and really should not be a starting BE center. If this team is ever to really have a shot at making a NCAA tourney Burrell has to play MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better, harder and smarter! Justin is the only legit BE big man, talent wise anyway on this roster!!!

I disagree... Sean has talent as well. IMO... Sean's talent is more raw than Justin's. However, Sean has just as much "Potential". Sean used his physical gifts more than Justin last year by being more aggressive than Justin.

In Justin's defense... I am hoping that it was the mask that kept him from being aggressive and this year it will be a whole different story with him.

I agree.  Sean is raw as anything but he has just as much--if not more--physical talen than Burrell.  If anything, Sean has the higher ceiling because you can't teach someone to be a beast. 

I love me some Sean Evans, but the brother is still a bull in a china shop.
Still gotta get some of the basics squared away.

I love me some Sean Evans, but the brother is still a bull in a china shop.
Still gotta get some of the basics squared away.

I agree. He is relying on his physical abilities and needs to polish his game.