Duke’s Isaiah Evans can shoot. But he needs to do a lot more than that vs. TCU
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke guard Isaiah Evans had his first collegiate double-double Thursday vs. Siena.
- Evans, a former North Mecklenburg star, and his Duke team face TCU Saturday (5:15 pm, CBS)
- Consistent rebounding and energy from Evans is important for Duke’s tournament success.
Everyone knows that Isaiah Evans can get on a heater.
But what Duke guard Evans really needs to do in his team’s second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against TCU Saturday (5:15 p.m., CBS) is get in the paint.
A 3-point shooting specialist, Evans earned the first double-double of his college basketball career in No. 1 Duke’s come-from-behind, 71-65 victory over No. 16 Siena. The former North Mecklenburg star had 16 points and 10 rebounds. He’ll be counted on for a similar output Saturday against a physical, battle-hardened No. 9 TCU squad that has already played three of the No. 1 seeds in this tournament in the regular season, and is about to play the fourth.
The goals for Evans and Duke remain a lot larger than beating the Horned Frogs and getting out of the first weekend, however.
“We’re coming here to take it all,” Evans said Friday. “We’re going for the big championship, to make it to Indianapolis (the site of the Final Four). That’s our goal.”
To get there, Evans has to do a lot more than just shoot 3s.
Said Chris Carrawell, Duke’s associate head coach: “Isaiah Evans draws so much attention on and off the ball. And it’s hard, because those guys (great shooters) can make tough shots. But a steady diet of tough shots makes it hard for you. So what he did (in the second half) — he put the ball down on the floor. He got a dunk. He got a layup…. And then he hit the three... His second half? That’s the way he’s got to play.”
Evans shows versatility
In a wild first week of the tournament — UNC and N.C. State were eliminated by Thursday night, while No. 12 seed High Point remains in the tournament — No. 1 overall seed Duke (33-2) is a constant. The Blue Devils trailed Siena by 11 points at halftime, but found a way to win a close game once again, just as they did against both Florida State and Virginia in the ACC tournament.
A lot of that was due to Evans, who as a sophomore is playing far more and bringing a lot more to the table than he did as a freshman. The Duke coaches asked him for more in the second half vs. Siena — and got it.
Said Duke coach Jon Scheyer of Evans: “I love the fact that…. he took that to heart last night. He wasn’t himself in the first half. He just wasn’t. The impact that he’s made scoring and shooting has been there from day one, but he’s grown up as a player this year with his defense, his rebounding, and his energy. We were missing his energy in the first half. You think about what he did in the second half — I thought his dunk, the left-handed dunk, was the play that really got us going.”
Evans averages a modest 3.3 rebounds per game, a total that really could and should go up for a 6-6 wing.
“Coach definitely told me I need to impact the boards more,” Evans said.
Room to continue growing
Originally from Fayetteville, Evans said Friday that he moved to the Charlotte area with his mother in the sixth grade. He became a five-star recruit at North Mecklenburg in Huntersville, doing things like scoring 62 points in a playoff game, scoring 48 in another game against Myers Park and winning a state championship as a senior.
Still, there’s plenty to improve, which is part of the reason why Evans stuck around for his sophomore year at Duke rather than head to the NBA after his freshman year like Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel did. He’s starting now and averaging 14.9 points per game (second on the team, behind ACC Player of the Year Cameron Boozer’s 22.5).
And while Evans was part of the problem in the first half against Siena — “We just weren’t doing Duke things,” Evans said — he was part of the solution in the second.
Evans described the ensuing film session as “ugly.” He wants to avoid another repeat of that Saturday against TCU.
To make that happen, he’s going to have to get inside.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Duke’s Isaiah Evans can shoot. But he needs to do a lot more than that vs. TCU."
