Isaiah Evans headed to NBA draft
Isaiah Evans grew into his role at Duke and he’ll keep growing in the NBA.
Duke’s sophomore guard announced Wednesday afternoon that he’s entering the NBA draft process. He is expected to remain in the process and forego his final two seasons of eligibility.
The 6-6, 180-pounder went from microwavable-but-inconsistent freshman off the bench for Duke in 2024-25, to starting all 38 games for the Blue Devils this past season. The only other player on the team to start every game was star freshman Cameron Boozer.
Evans scored 15 points per game this past season. He led the team with 101 made 3-pointers, shooting 36.1% from long range. His 86% clip at the free-throw line led Duke.
The growth Evans showed was both as an all-around playmaker and on the defensive end. His fouls drawn per 40 minutes went from 2.6 to 3.6; he went from making 17 of 34 2-point shots as a freshman to 85-for-150 as a sophomore; his free-throw rate went from 17.5% to 26.5%.
He had a few explosive games as a freshman — none bigger than a six 3-pointer explosion against Auburn (all in the first half).
Moving into the starting lineup on a fulltime basis, Evans had 23 points in this year’s season-opener against Texas — his first game with at least 20. Evans ended the season with nine games of at least 20 points, including a career-best 32 against Florida State in the ACC Tournament and 25 points in Duke’s last win of the season, against St. John’s in the Sweet 16.
Evans is the third departure from Duke since the season ended and the first announced entry to the NBA — though an announcement from Boozer is expected. Nikolas Khamenia (UConn) and Darren Harris (Indiana) transferred.
