Of the many players to visit Sacramento for a predraft workout, Tyreke Evans was the first to do so by himself.
Instead of playing against other potential rookies Tuesday, Evans worked up a sweat against Kings executives Fat Lever and Shareef Abdur-Rahim on the team's practice court.
Was he scared? Too good to work out against someone not considered an elite talent? Evans said the move wasn't one of arrogance or fear of being exposed by his competition.
"I wanted to work out against other people," Evans said. "But the people I wanted to work out with against just didn't work out, so I just went by myself. I ain't running from nobody. I'll work out against the best."
Evans also didn't run from questions about his inconsistent jump shot, the biggest knock on one of the draft's most intriguing prospects
Evans, 19, is one of the more physically imposing guard prospects. He's 6-foot-5 and says he weighs 217 pounds. He's considered one of the top talents available.
Evans averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals in his lone season with the Memphis Tigers.
"My size is an advantage because there are a lot of small guards," Evans said. "I think I'd be a perfect fit here, bringing the ball up and then coming off on the wing."
Evans helped turn around Memphis at midseason when he moved from shooting guard to point guard. So the team that selects Evans also must decide his position.
With Kevin Martin entrenched at shooting guard, Evans would come to Sacramento expecting to play point.
How he would play the position would depend on who his coach is, Evans said, before news of Paul Westphal's hiring broke.
"If he wants me to create for others, I'll do that," Evans said. "But if he wants me to be the point guard and if I have the option, take the basket, then I'll do that. Whatever he needs. If I was to come here, they have Martin, who's a great player, so I would have to get him a lot of shots before I tried to get mine."
And teams are almost certain to allow Evans all the outside shots he wants until he shows consistency from the perimeter. Evans made 45.5 percent of his field goals but hit on only 27.4 percent of his three-point attempts in Memphis' dribble-drive motion offense.
Evans' ability to get to the basket isn't in question. He also said he could post up smaller guards. He sees himself as a Brandon Roy-type player, a big guard with ballhandling skills.
But questions about his shooting persist.
"I did a lot of interviews in Chicago (at the predraft combine)," Evans said. "And everybody said it's definitely something I need to work on."
Evans said the only way to improve his jump shot is to stay in the gym, which he has in Southern California. Working out in Santa Monica with former NBA player B.J. Armstrong, Evans said he's gaining confidence he lacked in his jump shot as a collegian.
"During the season, I was just messed up," Evans said. "I was in the dribble-drive offense. Every time I got the ball, I was looking to drive. I wasn't looking for my shot."
Evans knows he'll have to look for his jumper as a pro. He'll be given plenty of chances to take them.
Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.
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