Iowa basketball: Bakari Evelyn out to prove doubters wrong

Bakari Evelyn had a down year in 2018 after a solid sophomore season. Now he’ll try to prove his doubters wrong with the Iowa basketball team.

Bakari Evelyn has an opportunity to make Iowa basketball fans forget about Jordan Bohannon potentially missing all of the 2019-2020 season. Bohannon, who was dealing with hip pain for most of his collegiate career, decided it was best for his long-term future to have surgery on the hip and get it fixed for good. Unfortunately, the recovery period for that is between 5 and 9 months.

He had the surgery shortly after his junior season ended, so there is a potential he will return at some point in the upcoming season. However, Fran McCaffery and the rest of his coaching staff remained proactive, assuming he’d miss the entire year and grabbed Bakari Evelyn, the senior transfer point guard from Valparaiso University.

Evelyn understands the opportunity in front of him in that he could see big minutes this season. He likely wouldn’t have transferred to Iowa if not.

"“I think there’s opportunity for me to play a lot of minutes. It was just the right fit and pretty good timing. Them having some transfers and uncertainty about Jordan’s health. And also me having a good relationship with coach Fran and coach Dillard.” – Des Moines Register"

Bakari Evelyn was terrific in his sophomore season averaging 12.6 points-per-game (PPG), 2.9 assists-per-game, and 1.4 steals-per-game on an average of 31.4 minutes per game. That season, Evelyn shot 38.3 percent from 3-point range and 44.9 percent overall but his season was ended prematurely due to an ankle injury.

It may have impacted his junior season as his numbers took a hit. Evelyn averaged just 8.4 PPG, 2.1 APG, and 0.6 SPG playing an average of 28.7 minutes per game. Most notably, his 3-point percentage dropped to 30.6 percent.

When he first arrived at Iowa, Evelyn heard rumblings that he was not a good shooter.

"“I can shoot it a little bit,” Evelyn said. “I don’t know where (the rumor) came from. I guess it’s just something else I’ve got to prove this season.” – Des Moines Register"

He’s definitely going to be playing in a different style of offense that was run at Valpo, but I am confident in Evelyn’s abilities so much that he will make the transition of losing a guy like Bohannon seamless.

Look for Bakari Evelyn to set the tone early when the Hawkeyes open their season against SIU-Edwardsville on November 6.