Tyreke Evans Adding To His Arsenal

Tyreke Evans will be looking to improve his shooting and leadership in year 2 in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, CA

While Tyreke Evans may not have made the Olympic team that was sent to the FIBA World Basketball Championship, he has spent the summer after winning rookie of the year with trainers developing the outside shot that he lost after going to Memphis for his one and only season under John Calipari.

While Evans clearly showed the ability to get to the rim on anyone (he was 2nd in the league at made shot attempts at the rim and first in attempts), he shot very poorly from the field and could be seen numerous times very hesitant to shoot jump shots or threes as the season progressed. This just won’t stand next season though. Teams will be stacking the paint as they were at the end of last season daring Evans to pull up and shoot. He simply won’t be able to get the same clean drives to the rim as he did last year…

Solution: Tyreke Evans decided to get bigger and work on his jumper all summer long. In a piece by Sam Amick of Fanhouse, he described his summer training and adding weight to his already imposing frame

“I was home (in Pennsylvania), back and forth between home, Sacramento and LA. I haven’t really got a vacation like that (before). Now I’m conditioning, shooting consistently, running on a treadmill, getting in that game shape before I go to LA Thursday to work with (trainer Rob McClanaghan)…I’m 228 (pounds) now, and I was 220 when I was playing (last season). I like the size. It’s nice for me to bully the guards around. I did it last year, but it’s going to be even worse this year. I’ll just have fun with it. (Now) I know how to do it. I’m used to it. I’ve been lifting weights, getting stronger. ”

Note to opposing teams and their guards… Yikes. If you need a reminder of how he got into the paint last year. Here it is…

As can be seen from the video, Evans uses a combination of size, speed, momentum shift, and an incredible sidestep or “Euro-Step” (as it more commonly known in the NBA) to get into the lane and score baskets at will. He wasn’t just going past scrubs people! He was holding his own against many of the stars in the game.

Evans has been working on his jump shot with trainer Rob McClanaghan in Los Angeles and while the jury is still out, the early word from Amick and the Sacramento Bee reports are that his form has improved a lot with the release coming in front of his head rather than behind. I may be a little biased but this guy is a truly special talent that is only going to get better. He’s only 21 years old and he is a nightmare for smaller guards. He also does not believe in the whole debate about whether he is truly a point guard or not.. as he calls himself a “basketball player”. He leads by example, not phased at all by the big moment or stardom, and will now be a much more vocal leader in the locker room as he hopes to steer the Kings towards a significant improvement from its 25-57 record last year.  He will have a lot more help this year from a talent standpoint as the Kings have beefed up their front line with size in DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Samuel Dalembert to go with Carl Landry and Jason Thompson.  He is happy in Sacramento and has indicated that the laid back small town atmosphere allows him to remain focused on his game and away from distractions.

Evans has clearly been appointed the franchise player role and doesn’t seem to be worried at all about not living up to the hype. He simply goes out and does his job by letting his game do the talking.

This is just an opinion…so please Pardon My Bias