This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Logan • Utah State graduate transfer Lew Evans has committed to Tennessee, according to multiple media reports on Monday.
Evans, a 6-foot-9 forward, has one year of college eligibility remaining. Last season, he averaged 8.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 21 minutes a game for the Aggies.
At Tennessee, Evans will play for coach Rick Barnes, who is starting his second season in Knoxville.
"That's kind of why I committed," Evans told the Knoxville News. "I trusted in coach Barnes to get me where I want to be. I trust that he's going to make my final year a good one and get the best out of me and that we're going to win a lot of games. That's kind of where I was at."
After graduating from Highland High in Salt Lake, Evans attended prep school in New Hampshire. He moved on to Casper (Wyo.) Junior College before playing one season at Tulsa. After Golden Hurricane coach Danny Manning took a job at Wake Forest, Evans transferred to Utah State. He sat out the required one year and became a mid-season starter for the Aggies and coach Tim Duryea in 2015-16.
"I think, for me, the thing I bring is experience," Evans told the newspaper. "I've had my stops over the year. I went to the NCAA Tournament with coach Manning at Tulsa. I bring that kind of experience. I'm 22 years old. I bring four years of college basketball experience. I've been through multiple coaches. I've probably seen it all by now."
He added: "I'm a big man that can shoot it. I'm a big man that can handle it. I'm a big man that's physical and tough. I can rebound the ball and I play really, really hard. I like to out-compete people and I like to out-tough people. It's kind of my thing."