One of the top prospects in the class of 2023 returned to the ranks of the uncommitted recently, when Dennis Evans, the No. 11 player in the 2023 class, was released from his letter of intent with Minnesota.
Evans;’ second recruitment figures to be a quick and tidy one, as one school feels like the leader. Recruiting is full of surprises, however, so national basketball analyst Rob Cassidy ranks the contenders to land the five-star center.
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Louisville
The Cardinals are the presumed leader and have put together a nice pitch to build around the game-changing big man. They will need to make over the roster significantly in year two of the Kenny Payne Era and having a budding star in the post could attract other talented prospects through the transfer portal this offseason.
The task at hand at Louisville is a difficult one, but Evans seems sufficiently enticed as well as sold on the fact that he could stand at the center of a memorable rebuild.
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TCU
The Horned Frogs stood next to Minnesota on Evans’ two-member list of finalists before he chose the Gophers and reached out immediately following the five-star’s release. If there’s a real threat to Louisville, Jamie Dixon’s program is probably it.
TCU feels like it’s running in a distant second place at this juncture nevertheless. Louisville isn’t currently on what anyone would consider stable footing, however, so the Cardinals’ 4-26 record works in TCU’s favor. If the unthinkable happens and Payne isn’t given a second season, things as they relate to Evans will open up significantly.
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Missouri
Evans took a long, hard look at Mizzou before he signed with Minnesota and the Tigers were one of the first schools to reach out when Evans was released from his NLI. That said, he cut Missouri from his finalists just before making his original commitment, so it’s not as though Denis Gates’ team is the logical landing spot.
There’s something to be said for effort, however, and Mizzou has certainly put plenty of that into the race to land the five-star big man. Gates and company will probably come up short, but it won’t be for lack of trying. The Tigers are once again hanging around the peripherals of Evans’ recruitment.
