Pennsylvania prep basketball star Evans chooses Memphis

4/16/2008 3:39 PM

ASTON, Pa. (AP) -One of the country's last undecided high-profile basketball recruits will spend next season at Memphis.

Tyreke Evans, the most valuable player of the McDonald's All-American game last month, announced his decision Wednesday at a news conference surrounded by his family at American Christian School.

``It was a tough decision, I wanted to stay close to home with my mom, my brothers and my family, but the school I chose was the University of Memphis,'' Evans said.

A three-time state player of the year, Evans averaged 29 points per game as a senior and capped it off with a 21-point, 10-rebound performance in the McDonald's game, the top event for high school seniors.

He seriously considered nearby Villanova as well as Texas before settling on the Tigers.

``I just decided Memphis was a better offense for me,'' Evans said. ``I would like to play with coach (John Calipari) because of the offense he ran.''

Evans will join the Tigers, who led Kansas down the stretch in the NCAA title game before falling in overtime, just as two of their top players may be leaving.

Evans could step directly into the starting spot vacated by Derrick Rose, who announced Tuesday that he is leaving for the NBA after one season with the Tigers. Chris Douglas-Roberts, the team's leading scorer and Conference USA player of the year, may also end up in the NBA next season.

Evans, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who excels at getting to the basket, could follow Rose as a one-and-done member of the Memphis backcourt.

``Hopefully coach Cal can get me ready to get to the next level and be a successful player in the NBA,'' Evans said.

Evans played the last few games of his senior season with extra security after he began cooperating with police investigating a murder.

Evans in February testified against his cousin, Jamar Evans. Tyreke Evans said he was the driver of an SUV from which his cousin fatally shot another man.

Tyreke Evans testified that he heard a gunshot as the victim approached the vehicle and then drove off. He heard another, closer shot before seeing his cousin put a small handgun into his hooded sweat shirt.

Tyreke Evans was not charged in the case, but police complained that he did not talk to them until three weeks later - a few days before Jamar Evans was charged.