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Peach Jam Spotlight: Tyreke Evans

To fully understand Tyreke Evans, you have to see the route he took to where he is at now.
For starters, Evans is the fifth of five boys. That is where the toughness comes from. Try being the youngest of a basketball family. You tend to pick up a few good habits here and there.
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His brothers aren't the older brother that never played and wants to relive his subpar athletic life through kid brother. No, his brothers have played college ball. In their spare time, they work with the class of 2008 prospect in the gym and against the toughest competition in the Philly area.
Older brothers Eric, who played at Chaney University, and Reggie, who is an assistant coach on Evans's Team Final squad, have put Tyreke through basketball boot camp. The early days on the hardwood and blacktops are paying off.
"(They have) always been there for me, working me out in the gym," the youngest Evans said. "We started doing that ever since I was like four years old.
"It's business when I get in the gym. I was thankful that I had those kinds of guys there to help. I know I wouldn't be where I'm at unless I had them there to look out for me. If I didn't have them, I don't know where I'd be.
"…We continue to work out and keep playing hard. I want to always be in the number one spot."
Being that top guy is something he is shooting for but wins are more important. With more flawless games like he had on Wednesday, Evans will certainly be a major contender for the top spot in August, when Rivals.com releases its debut 2008 rankings.
Against The Family, Evans was drilling everything he put up. Not bad for a guy with a bum ankle that is not at 100 percent quite yet.
"This has been the best game I've had since I rolled it," Evans said. "I've been taking care of it, icing it, resting it, just taking it easy on it. I wanted to focus on my shot and getting to the line to score on the foul shots. I thought was able to do that and played a pretty good game.
"I didn't come out firing but coach told me that I needed to take over the game," Evans said.
Evans certainly did. He was an assassin against The Family's zone defense, scoring five three-pointers. In the night cap, Evans was at it again against Team Florida. Playing in North Augusta is a huge motivation, he said.
"This is my first time at the Peach Jam. It's a lot like the Nike camp with all of the coaches and the scouts," Evans said. "You know you have to bring it. I played pretty good at the Nike camp but I want to really play well here at the Peach Jam."
Evans said North Carolina, UConn, Villanova, Louisville, Texas and Virginia are some of the heavy hitters early in the process. You better believe his decision will be discussed with the guys that helped him get to the point where he is at now.
"At the end of the day, we'll all sit down and look at everything before I make my final choice," Evans said. "There are a lot of good programs looking at me so we are going to look at all of them and find the best place for me.
"They have always been there for me, traveling me. They'll always be in my footsteps until I hit the NBA hopefully."
Evans, who averaged a hair under 28.5 points a game last year did it all at American Christian. He pulls rebounds (8.8 per game), makes passes (5.3 assists per game) and defends (3.8 steals a game). His game is still an unfinished product.
"I just working out everyday, man," Evans said.
The road to greatness doesn't have an ending. Evans is proving that.
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