American Christian (PA) superstar Tyreke Evans has dropped three schools from his list and named two as clear favorites, this according to Joseph Santoliquito of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Santoliquito reports that Evans has stated his list is down to Louisville, Villanova, Texas, Memphis and Uconn, and that he will definitely not be attending Florida, Georgia Tech or, surprisingly, North Carolina. UNC had long been the favorite of Evans' three older brothers, but little bro apparently isn't down with Roy Williams' style.
"I don't like the system down in North Carolina," said Evans. "I don't know if it's for me. I'm a rhythm player. I like playing in seven- or eight-man rotations. I like having the ball in my hands. North Carolina plays at least 10 or 11 players."
"I think that says something," older brother Doc said. "With Tyreke ruling out North Carolina, that just shows that his brothers don't control everything he does, like a lot of people think. A year ago, we all wanted Tyreke to go to North Carolina. We're all fans. Tyreke's even a North Carolina fan. But him deciding on the five schools he's listed shows his maturity."
Though five schools exist on his list at the moment, Evans admits that two have distanced themselves from the pack.
"My top two right now are Louisville and 'Nova," he said. "I like 'Nova because it's home, and Louisville because of coach Rick Pitino and the system they run. I went down there a year ago and I liked the campus. But ['Nova coach] Jay Wright, who I also like and respect a lot, and coach Pitino have supported me up close more than any of the other coaches in the country. They've been to everything. Other schools send their assistants."
Evans, who has been considered one of the best players in his class since before he stepped on a high school campus, is averaging 31 points a game for his AAU team and 28 in the Media League, which features NBA players and former Division I players. He'll play with his AAU squad until Friday, and then head off to the Nike Global Games in Portland, Ore., from Saturday through Aug. 1.
"This is my last year of playing AAU and I want to go out of that winning a national championship, that's my biggest goal right now," Evans said. "We'll see where everything else leads.
"I definitely want to make a decision before basketball season begins."