RebKell's Junkie Boards

[ClayK]

After watching today's game, and getting my first long look at Dawn Evans, I couldn't help but think "Andrea Riley".

Obviously Evans can shoot a lot better than she showed, and, like Riley, can get her shots against almost anyone. If she gets hot, she's going to be pretty much unstoppable at the college level.

But the turnovers are an issue, part of her shaky overall decision-making. She does one thing that coaches hate: She jumps in the air to pass, which means it's a lot easier to force her into turnovers than if she stays on the ground and keeps her options open. Of course, she's capable of making the great pass, but she does turn the ball over a lot. (One defender of Evans claimed that the other players on her team were so bad that her great passes were constantly dropped -- I'm not buying that, as her teammates seemed pretty good to me.)

At the WNBA level, Evans will face the same size issue that Riley does. Though she might be taller, she's more slender, and could get bumped off her path to the basket a lot. She's very quick, of course, and will beat a lot of people off the dribble, but, like Riley, what happens when those interior defenders are quicker and longer than their college counterparts, and 6-4 as well?

It was interesting that Temple frustrated her by denying her the ball with taller, stronger defenders who were pretty quick -- just like WNBA defenders will be except that they will be more of all three.

Evans is clearly a superstar in the CAA, and can produce against BCS teams as well, so there's no doubting her collegiate credentials. But, like Riley, her style of play doesn't please the purists, and she has to have the ball all the time to make it work.

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