Jawun Evans: A Star is Born?

Jawun Evans had a breakout game this past Wednesday night against the Oklahoma Sooners. Evans scored a career and Oklahoma State freshman high of 42 points, he made 18 of 31 from the field, good for 58 percent. Evans padded the rest of the stat sheet, collecting 7 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. Evans scored in different ways, whether it was being aggressive and attacking the basket, shooting the three-point ball (2/2), or showing off his mid-range game, Evans had everything going throughout the night.

Most of the talk going into this game centered around potential player of the year candidate Buddy Hield. Hield had a career game of his own prior to facing the Cowboys, scoring 46 points against Kansas in a losing effort. It was Evans who stole the spotlight Wednesday night as he outplayed Hield and was no match for the rest of the Sooners. Whether it was Hield, Jordan Woodard, or Isaiah Cousins guarding Evans, it simply did not matter. The Sooners had no answer for Evans throughout the game, especially evident in the second half as he scored 24 of his 42 points. He played like a man possessed and sparked the Cowboys second half comeback effort which brought them to within 2 points with 0.8 left on the game clock. Unfortunately Jeffery Carrol missed a game tying three-point shot and the Cowboys lost the game 74-72.

Although Evans had a spectacular game he wasn't satisfied because the Cowboys fell to the Sooners 74-72. After the game Evans said, "I'm mad we lost the game, so I really couldn't enjoy it."

Spoken like a true winner, Evans understands what he did was historic but winning comes first. The Oklahoma State faithful should be proud of Evans and the Cowboys effort against the Sooners, fans can look forward to the future knowing the team is in good hands with Evans.

Oklahoma State alumn Doug Gottlieb was certainly impressed with Evans as he took to twitter to share his thoughts:

Juwan Evans, got some Chris Paul to him. #GoPokes

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) January 14, 2016

If you didn't know about Jawun Evans, you most certainly do now. This last game against the Sooners was just the tip of the iceberg for Evans and should only drive him more on his path to success. Evans only a freshman, has plenty of time to master his craft and lead the Cowboys the rest of the year.

Up next is a trip to Longhorn territory as Oklahoma State takes on Texas, January 16th, at 6pm EST. Although they're coming off a loss, Evans and the Cowboys should have plenty of confidence going into Texas. It will be interesting to see what Evans has in store for us next. The Cowboys seek to end a three-game losing streak and pick up a second Big 12 conference win.