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As the Duke basketball team beat the Auburn Tigers, 84-78, led by another productive performance from star Cooper Flagg, it was the other freshman in Isaiah Evans who broke out. Duke basketball team Jon Scheyer would speak about Evans' performance Wednesday night as fans have been waiting to see more playing time for the five-star player coming out of high school.
Duke basketball's Jon Scheyer sings the praises of Isaiah Evans
In the win over the second-ranked team in the country in the Tigers, Evans would score 18 points off the bench as all of his makes were from beyond the arc, connecting on six of his eight attempts. Scheyer would say after the game that Evans' outing was unprecedented in how he went through the process going into the game, according to 247 Sports.
“I'm sure you guys will ask me about [Isaiah Evans], so I'm just going to tell you how proud I am of Isaiah Evans,” Scheyer said. “I get to see him every day in practice. Part of this is sometimes you don't play as much as you want to. Or don't play. And it's a long year. The attitude he's had every day in practice – coming up to the coaches and not working on shooting, believe it or not, but wanting to work on his defense or work on his rebounding or understanding rotations and coverages – I think it's a great lesson for young players.”
“He wants to play,” Scheyer said. “And I want guys who get pissed and have that edge about them and have that humility to attack every single day. To have that amazing courage to come into this game and do what he did – I'm not sure if I've ever been apart of something like that in my years here. There are maybe a couple guys I'm not thinking of. A special performance, in a special moment, where we needed him. I'm proud of our team.”
Isaiah Evans calls himself the “flamethrower” of Duke basketball
It wasn't just Scheyer who sang Evans' praises, but Flagg said he was “proud” of Evans for having the showcase he did, proving that he has earned playing time. Subsequently, in terms of his role for the team, Evans would call himself Duke basketball's “flamethrower,” which he showed Wednesday night.
“I'm used to being a flamethrower. I'm just happy I could contribute,” Evans said. “It was amazing. Since I signed with Duke, I always dreamed about being in a high-intensity game like that and delivering for my team and then coming out with the win – that was the most important part for me. Getting meaningful buckets…it just felt amazing out there.”
“It just makes me keep going,” Evans said on the fan reaction. “Games where I might not play, or weeks where I might be down, it just reminded me that there are people behind me [on the Duke bench] that are waiting on me. I'm never going to give up, and I'm always going to keep working. It was important to beat a really good team for our confidence. Obviously, we know we can do it, but once you actually do it, you grow as a team.”
Consequently, the Blue Devils are now 6-2 as they next travel to face the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday.
