Dana Evans, Louisville
When you look at Louisville, the first glance is always going to be at Asia Durr, but the Cardinals feature another exciting player who can take change games.
Like Durr, sophomore guard Dana Evans came to U of L has a highly coveted five-star recruit. The former McDonald’s All-American earned the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Sixth Player of the Year Award this season. He 10.5 points per game rank second on the Cards behind Durr, and the 5-6 Evans ranks in the ACC’s top 10 in 3-point shooting, assists and assist-to-turnover margin.
Coach Jeff Walz says he likes to bring Evans off the bench to change things up early in games. Her quickness makes Evans a defensive nightmare for opposing guards. It also threat to attack the basket on offense. To complement her slashing ability, she’s worked hard on her perimeter game this season. After making just 22.4 percent (11-of-49) from beyond the arc last season, Evans improved by more than 16 percent to hit 45-of-116 (38.8 percent) this year.
If starting point guard Arica Carter, who suffered a knee injury in the ACC Tournament semifinals and missed the tourney final against Notre Dame, is not at 100 percent by the time the NCAA Tournament tips off this weekend, look for Evans to get more time on the court. She averages 26.1 minutes a game but has exceeded 30 minutes in four of Louisville’s last five contests. — Steve Bittenbender