Who Could Replace Jawun’s Assist Production?

With Jawun Evans entering the upcoming NBA Draft, the Cowboys are left without their best player in 2016. There is currently only one other scholarship point guard on the roster, and although head coach Mike Boynton and the coaching staff are working on recruitment to fill that void, there are still multiple question marks regarding the position. The Cowboys lose an excellent scorer in Evans, but one of his more overshadowed qualities — his passing ability — will be something that the Cowboys will have to work just as hard to replace.

Evans was an excellent true point guard. His 204 assists in 2016 were the fourth-most in school history and the best since Doug Gottlieb’s 293-assist season in 1999. Surprisingly enough, Evans didn’t even lead the Big 12 in assists in 2016, as TCU’s Alex Robinson and Iowa State’s Monte Morris had 228 and 217 assists, respectively. What’s amazing is that all three of those performances were in the top 25 of Big 12 single-season assist numbers since 1985, which shows just how strong guard play is in the Big 12. Evans was, however, No. 9 in the country and first in the conference in assists per game with 6.4. So the question is, now that Evans has signed with an agent and forfeited his chance to withdraw from the draft, does anyone have the potential to come close to those numbers in the future?

Brandon Averette will likely take over for the Cowboys as starting point guard. Averette had a respectable freshman season, although he had 51 turnovers and just 60 assists in a backup role. He has shown promise with impressive agility and a reliable jump shot, but he will have to learn how to play facilitator if he wants to become a reliable starter. Four-star point guard Zack Dawson, who just reaffirmed his commitment last week, has an opportunity to make an immediate impact. The 6-foot-4 senior out of South Miami Senior High School is a gifted scorer, but whether he can play distributer is yet to be determined.

There will certainly be a learning curve for whoever takes over the starting point guard, but hopefully the Cowboys can recruit and develop well enough to still excel at the point guard position in Evans’ absence. The Cowboys will have talent coming back for next year, but if they don’t have a competent point guard, they’re going to have a tough time succeeding in 2017.