Cupboard Bare at Memphis?

So we know Tyreke Evans is one heck of a basketball player, but can he play all five positions?

With the entire starting five from the Memphis team that reached the NCAA title game having now declared for the NBA draft, Evans may have to.

Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier on Wednesday declared for the draft, although neither will hire an agent. They join early entries Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts and senior Joey Dorsey, meaning that all five of coach John Calipari's starters have declared.

"Both Antonio and Robert approached me about putting their names in the NBA draft, and I support them in their decision," Calipari said in a statement. "This is good for them because they can work out for teams and see where they stand and find out about their strengths and weaknesses.

On top of the loss of at least several of his key players, Calipari has now lost two assistant coaches to head jobs at other places: Chucky Martin to Marist and Derek Kellogg to UMass. Vance Walberg, who resigned from the head coaching gig at Pepperdine in January and is credited with inventing the dribble-drive motion offense used at Memphis, turned up at UMass as an assistant under Kellogg, so Calipari can't turn to him as a new assistant.

Now, the other question is: Does Devin Ebanks want to go to Memphis and get immediate playing time alongside Evans in what could be a rebuilding situation? Or does he play it safer and go to Texas or West Virginia, or even Rutgers?

Comments

[1oldshu]

While I will defer to the experts that rate Ebanks as a super-talent with real NBA potential, in the only game I've seen him play (the glorified lay-up, jam and 3-ball scrimmage a/k/a Jordan Brand game) he looks very slight and probably needs at least a couple of years in college ball to toughen and bulk-up physically.

[RUrising]

Ebanks won't see the ball at Memphis with 'Reke Evans on the floor. Evans is 1-and-done and no doubt his priority will be a high scoring average for a high NBA draft pick. Ebanks should forget about Memphis.