Utah State transfer Lew Evans will play for Vols

UT Vols
UT Vols

KNOXVILLE - The Tennessee men's basketball program's group of incoming players for next season officially grew to seven Wednesday.

After verbally committing Monday to use his final season of eligibility with the Volunteers, Utah State graduate transfer Lew Evans signed the required paperwork to finalize his move, Tennessee announced Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-9 forward will complete his business degree at Utah State this summer before joining the Vols.

Evans, who visited Tennessee last weekend, averaged 8.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 16 starts for the Aggies during the 2015-16 season.

"I'm excited because with only two other upperclassmen on our roster, Lew will bring some much-needed experience next year," coach Rick Barnes said in Tennessee's release. "He also adds a level of toughness to our frontcourt, along with a versatile skill set. His makeup is exactly what we need with this team."

The Vols had one available scholarship for 2016-17 after Ray Kasongo's decision to transfer after the spring semester.

Tennessee signed six players in its 2016 class: guards Jordan Bone, Kwe Parker and Jordan Bowden and forwards Jalen Johnson, John Fulkerson and Grant Williams.

Senior Robert Hubbs III and junior Detrick Mostella will be the only two upperclassmen on Tennessee's roster, and second-year players Admiral Schofield, Shembari Phillips, Kyle Alexander and Lamonte Turner form the team's core.

Adding Evans provides Tennessee a combination of immediate help in the form of a post player with experience and flexibility to keep another scholarship open for the 2017 recruiting class.

Evans played one season at Tulsa in 2013-14 after starting his career at Casper College in Wyoming, and he left the Golden Hurricane after coach Danny Manning went to Wake Forest. He joined the home-state Aggies to play for long-time coach Stew Morrill, but Morrill retired at the end of the season Evans sat out due to transfer rules.

"I really think for me it's a good opportunity," Evans told the Knoxville News Sentinel on Monday. "(The coaches) didn't promise me anything, and I don't want them to promise me anything. The thing they said they liked about me is I'm a competitor and play hard and that I've got some nastiness in me.

"I'm a big man that can shoot it. I'm a big man that can handle it. I'm a big man that's physical and tough. I can rebound the ball and I play really, really hard. I like to out-compete people and I like to out-tough people. It's kind of my thing."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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