Something that must be pointed out is the fact that Jennings doesn’t even really run the point for Rome that much, as he’s often slated next to either of Rome’s dominant ball-handling guards Ibrahim Jaaber or Sani Becirovic. Clearly there wasn’t a great deal of thought put into how these players complement each other on the part of the club or Jennings’ camp when the roster was assembled last summer. There is no doubt that in another situation, Jennings may have been able to better put his playmaking talent on display, as he was obviously on a very short leash here in Rome. draftexpress.com

I’m just not all that impressed with him, as a PG or not. Especially if not. And No, I haven’t seen him play much – nor do I think most people have. I know he’s young, chose to go to Europe rather than play at a college he could actually get admitted to, and left Europe with a pretty bitter taste in his mouth. I’m also prejudiced against younger, impetuous players as our roster is young, and in some cases impetuous enough already …

February 19, 2009
A mid-season position change that seems to have changed the complexion of his team’s season is certainly a good enough reason to revisit the topic of one of the NCAA’s most talented freshman. Tyreke Evans was asked to handle the point guard duties for Memphis full-time after a home loss to Syracuse that dropped his team out the top-25 for the first time in over three years, ….

And during that time -

He also ranks as one of the top rebounding guards in college basketball, pulling down over 7 per-40, and is also one of the top ball-thieves at 3.1 steals per-40. His productivity in those categories is terrific all things considered. The problem is that he’s almost amongst the NCAA leaders in field goal attempts and turnovers (at a dismal 4.5 per-40), highlighting one of his biggest flaws—his shoot-first mentality.

and -

As a point guard, Evans has been mostly a mixed bag. On one hand, he obviously possesses excellent basketball instincts and has a great sense for making plays for himself and others. Memphis is running a lot more pick and roll than they did last season, and Evans shows great potential in this area. The problem is that he’s an incredibly ball-dominant point guard, often looking like a fish out of water when he’s forced to give up the rock for more than a few seconds. Memphis’ offense often looks quite stagnant, with Evans over-dribbling the ball at the top of the key as his four teammates stand around and twiddle their thumbs. He can be pretty sloppy with the ball at times, displaying questionable decision-making skills and incredibly poor shot-selection, which wouldn’t be as much of an issue if he was able to make shots at a respectable rate from the perimeter.

so, if Hill is not available, and we are willing to go with another younger player who could play some PG, Evans is a viable choice. If you are looking for a dominant PG, we may be fooling ourselves.

This is why I thought the “swiss-army knife” depiction was appropriate:

It’s pretty obvious what Evans offers as a prospect, as he’s one of the premier shot-creators in the country, despite being only 19 years old. His combination of strength, aggressiveness and scoring instincts is almost unparalleled at this level, and should translate to the NBA level effectively when you consider his terrific footwork, body control, and hesitation moves. He does an excellent job pushing the ball up the floor in transition, can create (and finish) with either hand almost equally as well, and is an absolute bulldozer slashing his way through the paint and creating contact at the rim. While not an incredible leaper, Evans knows how to get to the free throw line, which helps minimize the fact that he’s not an incredible finisher percentage wise (just 50%). He’s also become pretty effective at finding teammates off the dribble, which has helped him rack up a decent amount of assists.

Sounds a bit Maggette-esque going to the hole, and good distributor, but this last part could be a concern, no?

While his skill-set may develop in time, Evans’ mentality looks extremely questionable—it’s hard not to come away with the impression that he’s a pretty selfish player. He’s likely going to have to revamp his shooting stroke entirely if he’s to ever become even a decent threat from the NBA 3-point line, something he’s been unwilling to do up until this point. draftexpress.com

Finally, back to the “position” question -

There a couple of crucial judgments which will be made individually by each and every NBA team that will play a huge role in where Evans’ draft stock ultimately lies. The first would be his likely position at the next level, point guard or shooting guard. The second would be whether he projects as a starter or backup at that position. The third would be whether he fits into what that team already possesses in terms of ball-handlers and outside shooters, as Evans clearly won’t fit into every system. It would be very difficult to play him alongside another guard who is also not much of a threat from beyond the arc, as that would make things very easy on the defense.

With the right teammates, though, and in a sparkplug/instant offense role, Evans could be very effective.

That last part is particularly relevant to our situation – at least for the next couple years with Crawford and Maggette being the primary sources of instant offense off the bench for GSW.

… and I thought you’d appreciate someone else sticking up for them Heels …