Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville C Commit Dennis Evans

Louisville Report breaks down 2023 Louisville men's basketball center commit Dennis Evans.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program has landed their biggest commitment of the Kenny Payne era thus far, as Dennis Evans has given his verbal pledge to play for the Cardinals.

Here is Louisville Report's full evaluation:

Prospect: Dennis Evans
Position: Center
Vitals: 7-foot-1, 210 pounds
School: Riverside (Calif.) Hillcrest
Top Offers: Florida State, Kansas, Minnesota, TCU, Texas
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9859 (38th)

Highlights:

Frame: It's not hyperbole to say you would be hard pressed to find many players who are as tall and as long as Evans. It's one thing to already be a shade over seven feet tall, but that also comes with a reported 7-foot-7 wingspan and 9-foot-8 standing reach. To put this in perspective, the only active NBA players who are taller are Boban Marjanovic and Kristaps Porzingis, and the only ones with a greater wingspan are Marjanovic, Mo Bamba, Rudy Gobert and Udoka Azubuike. 

Athleticism: Even with a frame as tall and as lengthy as he has, Evans is fairly mobile. Sure, he is limited in how agile he can be for very obvious reasons, but his lateral movement is still solid thanks in part to his long stride, which translates well on both ends of the court. He also runs the floor very well. Evans is lanky as you expect, particularly in his lower body, but does carry some strength in his upper body.

Instincts: Without a doubt, Evans is the best rim protector in the 2023 class, and you'd probably have to go back several years to find a high school prospect who is better. Whether it's a driver or someone posting up, nothing is safe when Evans is on the block. Not only that, but his incredible length plays a large role in altering shots evens if they aren't blocked. He is the type of big that mainly camps out in the lane, but he does have solid transition defense for the occasional chase down block, and does sometimes challenge jump shooters in his vicinity. Of course, his offense lags behind his defense, but he's far from useless on that end of the floor. He does well absorbing contact on post ups for someone who still needs to develop physically, his length allows him to simply stretch the ball past defenders from time to time, and he can score on the drive with his super long stride. That being said, his go-to is mainly using his physical mismatch to stay down low and simply dunk the ball home, whether that be from creating his own shot or grabbing offensive rebounds.

Polish: Something that makes Evans such an elite rim protector is his ability to erase every feasible option of attack. He doesn't have hard bites on most fakes and stays patient, flips his hips well for a big of his size to stay in front of his man, doesn't leap out of his shoes on blocks (not that he has a reason to) and has great overall timing on his block attempts. While he does stick his nose in the action often, he isn't one with a propensity to foul a lot. Over on offense, there is some potential away from the basket. It's likely never going to be his strength, but he does show flashes in pick-and-roll situations, and isn't afraid to pull the trigger on mid-range jumpers or three-pointers at times when presented the opportunity. The lefty just needs to become a more consistent shooter if this is going to be a viable option in his offensive repertoire.

Bottom Line: Center isn't exactly the biggest need for Louisville as of right now, but make no mistake, this is still a phenomenal pickup for head coach Kenny Payne and the Cardinals. Evans will need to continue to develop from a strength standpoint, especially considering he is one of the younger prospects in the 2023 cycle, but his prowess on the block is something that Louisville needed immensely after a horrid season defensively. Considering Evans still has room to grow even with an already high floor, this will be a fantastic opportunity for Payne to showcase his ability to develop big men, on top of what he can give Louisville right out of the gates.

(Photo of Dennis Evans via USA Basketball)

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