There have been other tough acts to follow - Michael Jordan in Chicago, Brett Favre in Green Bay - and drop-offs are expected in those situations.
Such is not the case in the land of the Delta Blues. As
TyrekeEvans steps into the shoes of Derrick Rose as the next freshman phenom for the
Memphis Tigers - as he did for the first time Friday night at the Tigers' firstofficial practice of the season at the FedEx Forum - the expectations are piled higher than a pulled pork sandwich around here.
"They're both great players," junior guard
Willie Kemp said."Derrick wanted the ball when we needed a big shot down the stretch. His thing was getting by people and creating. Tyreke is more of a guy who can scoreanywhere on the court. He can play the '1,' the '2,' even the '3.' "
If that's true, Evans fills two voids. The Tigers will need him to score to help pick up the slack left by Rose's early departure for the NBA -where he was the No. 1 overall pick - by Chris Douglas-Roberts' early departure for the NBA. Rose gave coach
John Calipari 14.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds. Douglas-Roberts led the Tigers inscoring, averaging 18.1 points.
OK, Evans is not going to average the combined 33 points those two provided. And his game is wholly different than that of Rose. Rose is 6-3 and one of thefastest players with the ball in his hands the college game has seen. Evans is 6-6 and has a much more polished perimeter game but not the ball-handlingability or sheer athleticism of Rose. Few do.
Rose was the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2007 class, No. 1 among point guards. Evans is the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2008 class, No. 3 among pointguards. There is plenty of reason for optimism among Tigers faithful.
The new kid on the block doesn't lack for confidence, either.
"I don't feel any pressure," Evans told Rivals.com. "I'm just going out there looking forward to the season. A lot of people arecomparing me to Derrick Rose. I just want to get us back to the national championship. I'm ready to get out there and show people what I'm made of,show them what we can do this year.
"We (Evans and Rose) have totally two different games. He's more of a fast point guard, explosive. I'm more of a scorer. But hopefully I'llshow people what's different about our games on the court. I can't really talk too much about it, but I'll definitely show you on thecourt."
He got his first chance during Friday night's Memphis Madness, as the Tigers opened practice in front of 14,000 fans. Defense was hardly at a premium,but Evans scored the scrimmage's first points on a layup and later beat his man baseline for a dunk. He had another dunk on a pass off the backboard fromKemp; shortly thereafter, he stole an inbounds pass and assisted off the backboard to himself for another jam that got the crowd going.
"I'm learning the system, the dribble-drive offense," Evans said. "I'm getting to know Coach Cal better and my teammates. They'reall pretty good guys.
"I'm feeling comfortable in the system and I'll feel more comfortable when I get the offense down pat. I know Coach willbe pushing me a lot in practice. I'm looking forward to going out and pushing myself hard every night and doing what he asks."
Calipari isn't ready to anoint Evans just yet. After Friday night's scrimmage, the coach was lamenting that he didn't know who on this teamwould want the ball late, like Rose and Douglas-Roberts last season.
"He (Evans) may not be that guy," Calipari said. "Until you put that number on your back, until you go in front of a hostile crowd on theroad and show somebody, you just don't know."
As Kemp said, Calipari may ask Evans to put the ball in the hole one night and distribute the next. He has enough handle to play the point whennecessary.
"In scrimmages, Coach has wanted me to run the point some and get the hang of it," Evans said. "Get the rebound, push the ball up the floor,look for a layup and if not kick it to the open guy. That's fine with me."
Evans could be a one-and-done college player, just like Rose. The subject is hardly the 800-pound gorilla in the room. The Tigers have had plenty of playersleave early, and they will continue to attract the kind of talent capable of making the quick jump.
"That's everybody's goal, to make it to the NBA," Evans said. "But right now it's business in college. I'm going to do whatit takes to have a good season this year, and hopefully if I have a good season and I'm ready, then I'll go. And if not, I'll stay however manyyears it takes to get to the NBA."
What will he have to accomplish to know he's ready?
"I'll have to do a lot to know I'm ready," Evans said. "Win a lot of games and hopefully get to the national championship."
ETC.: Calipari was thrilled with the crowd. He also said the team won because "nobody got hurt. That's all you hope for." …Douglas-Roberts, now a rookie for the New Jersey Nets, made a surprise appearance to help hang Memphis' Final Four banner. He received a rousing standingovation from the crowd. … Rose provided a special video message, and so did departed senior Joey Dorsey, now a rookie with the Houston Rockets. …
Sean Taggart was a surprise winner of the 3-point contest. The other participants were
Doneal Mack, the team's leader in 3-pointers last season, Kemp and newcomers
Roburt Sallie and
Angel Garcia. … Even the four coaches from the Memphis-China exchangeprogram got a standing ovation when they were introduced. … Junior forward
PierreHenderson Niles was introduced as having lost 50 pounds during the offseason. He promptly displayed what the weight loss had done for him, scoring on analley-oop during the scrimmage.
