Arizona State’s Shannon Evans II checked out with 2:09 remaining in Friday’s exhibition game against Arizona Christian at Wells Fargo Arena. He left to a standing ovation after scoring 45 points.
Seconds later, the senior guard subbed back into a game ASU led big. Everybody knew why. He wanted 50.
Right after checking in, Evans took a defender to the rim, finished and converted an and-one opportunity. About a minute later, the Sun Devils had the ball with about 17 seconds remaining. It went to Evans.
He prepared to drive the lane but slipped. Luckily, he recovered and threw up a layup that was good.
Fifty.
“I feel like at a point, you don’t want to just get caught up in yourself,” Evans said after ASU’s 115-69 win over Arizona Christian. “You still want to play and make sure everybody gets touches. But at one point, everybody was just like, ‘Shoot it, every time. We don’t care. Shoot.’ I’m glad I got the guys in my locker room like that who wanted me to score 50, so it was pretty fun.”
Evans poured in those 50 points on 18-26 shooting, 11-18 from 3-point range. He added 3 rebounds and 3 assists in his 34 minutes.
ASU coach Bobby Hurley said he let Evans go on Friday. He said he didn’t call many plays, didn’t interrupt the flow.
That could be seen as a difficult tightrope. While Evans had an opportunity to have a special night — though in just an exhibition game — leaving him out there is perhaps risking injury. Letting him run free may not be seen as good sportsmanship to some parties.
Evans missed Wednesday’s exhibition at the University of San Diego with a stomach virus. ASU still won, but Evans missed out on getting the tune-up minutes that give preseason basketball a slight importance.
“I just think that we have to have an extreme competitive spirit and drive in our program, no matter who we’re playing,” Hurley said. “We’re striving to play the best 40 minutes we can play and the teams we’re going to have to play on our schedule — mostly top to bottom — you got to play for 40 minutes. I need my best players ready to play 40 minutes if I need them to.”
Here were a few other themes from ASU’s exhibition victory:
REMY MARTIN CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Freshman guard Remy Martin has made plays on both ends during ASU’s preseason slate. He looks like a blur on the fastbreak, but that speed and quickness allows him to be a tenacious defender.
He had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in 27 minutes as he provided a spark once again. After ASU’s first exhibition game against Northern State on Oct. 26, Hurley said the Sun Devils needed more defensive-minded energy like Martin offers. It seems to be rubbing off on his teammates.
“Our bench gets excited, the guys behind him have confidence knowing that it’s not easy for the point guard to be doing that,” Hurley said. “Other guys don’t want to appear to not be giving that type of effort that he’s giving.”
Evans said Martin is quiet off the court. But when he sets foot on it, he starts talking and brings passion and energy. On the defensive end, he pushes everyone to be better.
“He picks up the ball, turns them,” Evans said. “I’m in the back, I’m hyped up like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get a steal too.’ It gets everybody going and when he does that, it changes the game.”
DEFENSE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A FOCUS, AND STILL IS
Defense has always been important to Hurley, but this season, it seems the performance on that end could help this team reach the next level.
“I think our seniors know that we can score and we’re a good offensive team, and we can score in a variety of ways,” Hurley said. “We need to make our defense better. That was what cost us last year, and finding ways to do that is going to give us a chance to win more games.”
Among the guards, Martin is the most obvious tone-setter in that regard. But according to Hurley, senior Tra Holder has also bought into that defensive mindset.
Holder had just 9 points in Friday’s exhibition, but Hurley was impressed with his defense.
“I think Tra is the best example of a guy that’s sacrificed and has given more energy and focus on defense,” Hurley said. “Tonight, it wasn’t his night on offense, but Tra is a good teammate and just performed and defended the way we need him to.”
Arizona Christian shot 53 percent in the first half, but just 29 percent in the second half. Hurley said his team needs to play better defensively, but he was pleased with the outcome.
He said he saw the same against San Diego. ASU eventually wore down its opponent with “our ball pressure and our intensity and desire to defend the ball and make them work.”
“As the game wears on, you hope you have a team that can wear down some because they have to handle that type of pressure,” Hurley said. “Early in the game, you’re going to make some shots. As the game progresses and you keep the pressure on, teams may not shoot the ball as well throughout the course of the game, but I’m guessing some when I say that.”
KIMANI LAWRENCE AND DE’QUON LAKE SHOWING UPSIDE
Much of the preseason talk has surrounded Martin’s play, and for good reason, but don’t forget about freshman forward Kimani Lawrence.
Lawrence on Friday scored 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting in 34 minutes. He showed his ability to not only drive the lane but finish with finesse. On one play, he crossed a defender over to start. On another, he used a nice spin move to free himself up for a soft layup.
Whereas Martin attacks defenders with pure speed, Hurley said, Lawrence offers more versatility.
“He’s very long, he’s got long strides and is deceptive and changes his speeds,” Hurley said. “He’s kind of got a crafty way about how he can attack. …Kimani is a little more deliberate (than Martin) and notices how the defense is playing him and plays angles and spins off the defense. He’s got a really good feel for those things.”
The Sun Devils lacked interior presence last season. Junior De’Quon Lake seems a bit raw, but Hurley said the 6-9 forward has solid potential.
Now, ASU just needs Lake to try and find consistency.
“His head is still spinning in terms of everything we’re doing and trying to adjust to a new situation, but he’s got some upside with his ability to get off his feet and finish, and he had a nice little lefty jump-hook late,” Hurley said of Lake.
Lake finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks. On one play, he had a ferocious putback dunk after Holder missed a 3-pointer.
However, he fouled out in just 15 minutes.
“I’d like for him to be aggressive and if that means he’s going to make some mistakes of aggression right now and even in the early stages of the year, we’ll live through that, we’ll show him film on things that he can do better,” Hurley said. “We just want to get his motor at the highest level so he’s competing for every rebound — if a guard’s in there, he’s challenging shots at the rim. And if he’s changing ends, that he can finish. He’s our most explosive athlete getting off his feet in the open court.”
ASU opens its season at Wells Fargo Arena on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. against Idaho State.
