Ayden Evans' game is growing, and so is interest in him
Ayden Evans, a 2024 forward, has had a very productive spring for Power Circle on the Adidas Gold Circuit. The 6-foot-8 rising junior has worked on expanding his game and has become more consistent in producing on a game-to-game basis, and that has caught the attention of some Power Five schools.
Evans broke down some of his offers and detailed where things stand early in his recruitment.
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2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Schools in the mix early: “Missouri, West Virginia, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, with Missouri and West Virginia being the top two.”
Missouri: “I like the (assistant) coach, (Kyle) Smithpeters. I like him and I had a great conversation with him. He thinks that I’d fit in their system and he seems like somebody that I could relate to as a person.”
West Virginia: “Their (assistant) coach ... (Erik) Martin, he seems like he knows the game really well. I like that it’s real close, only a couple of hours away. I also like that they play a fast, up-tempo style of play.”
Texas A&M: “It’s in Texas, so they have the nice weather. The (assistant) coach ... (Lyle) Wolf is from Kentucky, so I’ll probably talk to him a lot. He likes that I can push it up the floor at my height and thinks I can play as a hybrid wing.”
His progression as a player: “(Power Circle coach) Ellis (Myles), he always pushes me to be the best. He’s really developed me. My shot has gotten better and my defensive timing as well. I’ve gotten a little stronger, too. I’m focusing on developing my body and getting stronger, as well as my ball handling and being able to bring it up the court more off of defensive rebounds.”
Visits: “They’re not scheduled yet, but we’ve talked about taking visits to West Virginia and Missouri.”
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RIVALS' REACTION
Evans is still trying to learn about some of the schools recruiting him, most notably Mississippi State and Texas A&M. There’s a Kentucky connection with Texas A&M, and Mississippi State was the second Power Five school to offer him, so both could be viable options.
If he continues to progress over the next two years it’ll be interesting to see if Louisville, the hometown school, gets involved, especially considering the connections there through his AAU program.