By Steve DiMiceli
The way fans treated Eric Evans from day one helped me realize that point guards along with quaterbacks and goalies are the most unfairly scapegoated players in all of sports. After all, can a quarterback lead his team to victory without a strong offensive line and some weapons to throw to? Can a goalie keep out pucks when his defenders are irresponsible? Point guard is just like any other high visibility position where the players around them can make them look a lot worse and when they make mistakes themselves, people notice because they're the guys with the ball in their hands most. Eric has been a solid to strong role player for the Dukes. He really didn't hurt the team as badly or as often as people think. Because he ran the point, his mistakes were amplified. His career was nothing spectacular and he was almost a 1000 point scorer by default as he was needed so much early. He was never a prolific assist man, but what he did well, he did very well.
What we will miss?
Eric was a strong passer and may have been our best ball handler. By his senior year, he took very good care of the ball and his assist to turnover ratio was among the best in the league. He was excellent at breaking down the press. With the exception of a mid Atlantic 10 season slump, EE was one of our more reliable FT shooters. We'll miss his tear drop, but we've been missing that since his sophomore year. He was one of the stronger defenders on the team when he was on.
What we won't miss?
Eric would have had a much stronger career had he played more to his strengths. We won't miss his three point shooting most of the time. We'll miss that game or two a season where he didn't miss, but those games didn't make up for the ones where he struggled badly. He was not very patient and should have passed up a lot of his shots. He'd force plays to draw contact and a foul while driving the lane rather than kicking to open players. He was an inconsistent defender. While I would not call him a selfish player, I would not call him a generous one either.
What we'll miss the least about Eric has nothing to do with him, but rather the lineup Ron felt compelled to put on the floor. He had to start Eric but Eric didn't do well in the two PG system. He had his best games when ran the offense more often than TJ McConnell did. Eric never played well off the ball. On the other hand, TJ could run both the one and two even if he is clearly a better one. EE graduating allows Ron to play a more traditional lineup with just one point guard. I think this will get more size into the lineup and help with rebounding. Again, not Evans fault, but he was being misused, because he had to play somewhere.
What's Next?
If Reggie Jackson can catch on somewhere in Europe, I see no reason why Eric Evans can't do the same. It'll probably be a lower level league, but I think if he really puts his mind to it, he could play for a while.
