Syracuse basketball has shown interest in 4-star transfer Ken Evans Jr., per report

Syracuse basketball coaches have shown some level of interest in four-star guard transfer Ken Evans Jr., according to a report by Tony Liebert on si.com.

There was a lot of chatter on social media and in chat rooms by Orange fans on Sunday and stretching into Monday regarding the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Evans, a redshirt junior guard at Jackson State.

For one, on Sunday, 'Cuse four-star commit Eddie Lampkin Jr., a senior center from Colorado, noted Evans on his Instagram page. I came across the Liebert report on Monday from a post on X by my guy Jackson Holzer, the host of Locked On Syracuse.

Liebert's article noted that college squads potentially showing interest in Evans include Minnesota, Syracuse basketball, St. John's and West Virginia. Top analyst Mike McAllister of 247Sports discussed Evans in a piece published Monday, however, it's a subscriber-exclusive story, and I want to respect Mike's work here.

Other social media posts that I've come across mention teams such as Mississippi State, Memphis, Ole Miss and Louisville as possibly displaying an interest in Evans.

Syracuse basketball may have an interest in four-star guard transfer Ken Evans Jr.

The influx of dialogue among 'Cuse fans regarding Evans comes in the wake of Orange four-star guard target Dakota Leffew saying this past weekend that he will transfer to Southeastern Conference school Georgia.

Leffew, a Mount St. Mary's senior, recently took a visit to Syracuse basketball, among other suitors, and had the 'Cuse among his six finalists. By the way, McAllister provided some insights into Leffew's final decision on Monday via a radio interview posted to the X account of Cuse Sports Talk.

At this juncture, Syracuse basketball has 10 scholarship players on its 2024-25 roster, including five guards. Not too long ago, four-star transfer Jaquan Carlos, a junior point guard from Hofstra, committed to the Orange.

With three open scholarships still remaining for 2024-25, I could envision the 'Cuse staff pursuing another lead guard, a 3-point specialist and a big man to provide additional front-court depth.

The current transfer-portal window closes on May 1, meaning that college players who wish to transfer to a new school must be in the portal by then, although their recruiting processes could carry on for weeks or even months.

Evans, a native of Jackson, Miss., is an intriguing prospect. On Monday night, in national transfer rankings, both 247Sports and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed him as four stars, in the top 125 overall and in the top 15 at combo guard.

In the 2023-24 campaign for Southwestern Athletic Conference ("SWAC") member Jackson State, Evans averaged 18.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while connecting on 40.8 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.2 percent from the free-throw line, per ESPN data.

This past term, Evans was named his conference's player of the year and also resided on the All-SWAC first team. It will be interesting to see how things play out with Evans' recruitment.

He's lethal from long-range, and I'd love to see him in Orange. But to reiterate, the 'Cuse already does have five guards on its 2024-25 roster.