There were plenty of reasons for frustration in Tennessee basketball’s 86-75 SEC opening loss at Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. But freshman Amari Evans performance was a major positive as he turned in a career day and continued his recent emergence as a reliable piece of the Vols’ rotation.
“Amari was terrific,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame. “Amari is who he is. He’s going to compete. He’s played like that, it doesn’t matter who we play against, he’s done that. He’s playing because he’s earned it. He’s not afraid to compete.”
Evans helped Tennessee turn defense into offense, totaling a game-high three steals while providing needed physicality on the perimeter while Bishop Boswell battled first half foul trouble. Defense is what made the 6-foot-5 guard a four-star recruit and gave him a path to the court early.
But it’s Evans’ offense that’s seemingly come out of nowhere. Evans totaled a team-high 16 points on a perfect seven-for-seven shooting from the field.
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Through the first 12 games of the season, Evans had totaled just 18 total points on seven-of-19 shooting. Evans combined for 30 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the field over the last two games. The development has come out of nowhere.
“I’ve seen him do it in practice,” Tennessee point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said. “He’s taking what the defense is giving him. He’s being really efficient. I feel like when he first started playing, he was kind of not efficient enough. Now he’s learning it and getting a lot more confidence and is playing really well for us.”
Evans has played well over the last handful of games even before the scoring numbers began to tick up. And while the significant jump in scoring feels unsustainable, Gillespie is correct. Evans is taking good shots and not forcing the issue. He had just one turnover against Arkansas in his 23 minutes played.
As SEC play heats up, Evans looks like someone who is not only going to be in Tennessee’s rotation but perhaps one of its best perimeter options.
