Tag: Kwame Evans

How Mookie Cook, KJ Evans, and Bronny James performed in 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game

Mookie Cook shot 66% from the floor and Kwame Evans was perfect from the FT line. With 5 three-pointers, though, it was Bronny James who stole the show.

The ultimate showcase for high school basketball players took place on Tuesday night with the McDonald’s All-American Game being broadcast on ESPN. The top basketball players in the 2023 class were able to get on the court and compete in an all-star game that has featured some of the best players in both NBA and WNBA history over the past several decades.

For fans of the Oregon Ducks, there was reason to tune in, with signees Mookie Cook and KJ Evans taking part in the festivities. There was also the main attraction of Bronny James, son of NBA legend LeBron James, who is reportedly considering a commitment to the Ducks in the coming months, along with USC and Ohio State as well.

The game itself was highly entertaining, with the East taking a hard-fought victory over the West, 109-106. While there were a ton of stars to watch, here’s how the two Oregon players — Cook and Evans — and the potential Oregon player — James — ended up playing in the showcase.

Bronny James and Oregon commit Kwame Evans projected lottery picks in 2024 NBA mock draft

Both Bronny James and Oregon’s Kwame Evans are projected top-10 picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Could that be a pair of Ducks in the top 10? We’ll see…

The 2023 NBA Draft hasn’t even taken place yet, so it may seem a bit crazy to already be looking over a year down the road to 2024. However, that’s the business that we are in, and with a name like Bronny James in the mix for a potential NBA team to add to their roster — and the likely chance that it leads to LeBron James coming to your team as well — then it’s safe to say that the 2024 NBA Draft is going to be among the most heavily covered we’ve seen in a long time.

Bronny James isn’t the only name that Oregon Duck fans should be focused on, though. While James is yet to make his commitment and is still said to be heavily considering the Ducks, there is an Oregon commit who is in the mix for a top pick in 2024.

5-star PF Kwame Evans is even higher on the board than James is. According to ESPN’s latest 2024 mock, Evans is projected to go to the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 9 overall pick, with James is projected to go to the Orlando Magic with the No. 10 overall pick.

Could that be a pair of Ducks in the top 10 of the draft? Time will tell.

At the moment, Evans is the highest-rated recruit in Oregon’s 2023 class, ranking as the No. 11 overall player in the nation. Contrarily, James is rated as the No. 33 player in the 2023 class.

It should be noted that Mookie Cook, the other 5-star recruit in Oregon’s 2023 signing class, was not included in the 2024 mock draft, nor was 4-star PG Jackson Shelstad.

There is a lot of time between now and the 2024 draft, and many, many more mock drafts to be published. Between now and then, we will certainly see more speculation about where Bronny will go, and it will be interesting to see how high up the rankings Evans can rise as well.

Until then, though, we can focus on the 2023 NBA Draft, where Oregon C Kel’el Ware is projected to come off the board at some point. He started out as a lottery pick but has fallen down the draft boards as a disappointing year goes on. With the 2023 draft taking place on June 22, we’ve got some time to see how his position changes over the coming months.

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Trio of Oregon recruits named 2023 McDonald’s All-Americans

Oregon recruits Kwame Evans and Mookie Cook were named McDonald’s All-Americans along with Oregon’s Sofia Bell.

The 46th annual McDonald’s All-American Game will once again feature some of the very best high school basketball players in the country.

Oregon Ducks fans have plenty of reasons to tune in to both the men’s and women’s games, as a trio of Oregon recruits are set to participate in this year’s event.

On the men’s side it is clear Dana Altman’s work as a recruiter has paid off, with two members of Oregon’s 2023 class getting selected for the event in Kwame Evans and Mookie Cook.

Evans comes in at No. 11 overall in 247Sports 2023 class ranking, while Cook is only a few spots behind at No. 22. Jackson Shelstad, the third heralded member of Altman’s 2023 class, did not make the cut despite putting together a monster performance for West Linn at the Les Schwab Invitational this year.

Oregon may have a third member in the men’s game before too long, however, as Bronny James was the only non-committed player selected for the event. James is reportedly down to Oregon, Ohio State, and USC, and there is some belief that he will end up in Eugene next year.

On the women’s side Sofia Bell is the lone representative for Kelly Graves’ recruiting class. Bell is from nearby Jesuit High School and has a 95 grade on ESPN’s recruiting evaluation.

The event will take place on March 28, 2023, in Houston, Texas.

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2023 5-star Kwame Evans encouraging Bronny James to visit Oregon

Bronny James, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, is being recruited to join Oregon’s electric 2023 recruiting class by 5-star Kwame Evans.

It’s hard to be any more in the spotlight as an unsigned high school basketball recruit than Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James.

Bronny plays at Sierra Canyon and is currently ranked No. 34 in the class of 2023 at 247Sports, but his recruitment has taken on a life of its own thanks to the celebrity status of his dad – who maintains his goal is to play with his son in the NBA.

James has kept his recruitment process close to the chest, although Oregon – thanks in part to their Nike connection – remain a school squarely in the running for the six-foot-three point guard’s services.

Should James choose to come to Oregon he would join an elite recruiting class that already features Kwame Evans, Mookie Cook, and Jackson Shelstad.

Evans in particular has made it clear he wants Bronny donning the green and yellow next year.

“[Bronny] told me he likes Oregon, and I want him to visit there,” Evans told Yahoo Sports. “Everyone that’s coming in is unselfish. We all cut, move and don’t hold the ball too long, so it’s going to benefit him. Bronny can be more of a playmaker and a shot creator, and I think we would play really well together.”

It’s easy to see the appeal of adding James to this class, even without factoring in the instant boost his arrival would give the program from a watchability perspective.

Dana Altman’s ability to recruit high level talent to Eugene is unmistakable, and adding James to a class as dynamic as the one coming in 2023 would put even more pressure on the Ducks to get back into the NCAA Tournament and make some serious noise in March.

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11 things that Oregon Duck fans should be most thankful for in 2022

What are you most thankful for as an Oregon Duck fan as we get into this holiday season?

Last year when we checked in on the Oregon Ducks’ world of sports during Thanksgiving time, things weren’t looking so great. The football team had just suffered the first of two blowout losses to the Utah Utes, falling from their No. 3 spot in the nation; the No. 9 men’s basketball team was quickly exposed as fraudulent; the women’s basketball team was tanking in the standings after back-to-back losses as the No. 12 team in the nation.

Of course, things didn’t get much better from there, either. Oregon’s football team went on to get blown out in the Pac-12 title game by Utah again and watched as their head coach Mario Cristobal jetted to warmer weather. Dana Altman failed to align the Rubik’s Cube and missed the NCAA Tournament. Kelly Graves had his squad competitive, but nowhere near as good as we expected going into the year.

By comparison, the Ducks sure do have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

Not only did the football program bounce back in a magnificent fashion with an up-and-coming head coach that looks to be among the best young signal-callers in the nation, but Altman and Graves also have things rolling in the right direction on the hardwood.

On top of the tangible success, Oregon is still Oregon, and Phil Knight is still the greatest Uncle in the world. The Ducks have some of the best facilities, best uniforms, best coaches, and best players in the nation, and routinely are in the conversation among the best teams across all sports.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, as we gather with friends and family, we thought it would be nice to reflect on what Oregon fans should be the most thankful for this year. Here’s what we came up with:

‘We’re still the University of Oregon;’ Dana Altman breaks down No. 7 ranked 2023 recruiting class

Dana Altman signed the No. 7 class in the nation on Wednesday, and went into detail on what each one offers the Ducks.

With the No. 7 ranked recruiting class in the nation putting pen to paper on Wednesday, Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman was free to discuss the additions that his team made to the roster this week, and what the incoming players — 5-star KJ Evans, 5-star Mookie Cook, and 4-star Jackson Shelstad — would offer to the team.

With Cook and Shelstad growing up in Oregon, Altman has been recruiting them for a long time, and was finally able to make the addition official this week. As for Evans, one of the top-ranked players in the nation, it was a signing that has been in the works for a couple of years.

When talking to the media on Thursday about the class, Altman broke down what he liked about each player and a little bit about how the recruitment for each one went. He also broke down some of the new recruiting landscape, touching on the impact that NIL has.

Here is everything Altman had to say about recruiting on Thursday:

SIGNED: Dana Altman’s Ducks put pen to paper on No. 7 ranked recruiting class in nation

A lot of talent coming to Eugene with three top-50 players in the 2023 class, including two top-12 players in the nation.

The newest class of Oregon Ducks put pen to paper on Wednesday afternoon, making it official that they will be coming to Eugene to play for Dana Altman next season.

The early period of national signing for college basketball started on Wednesday, which saw the Ducks add 5-star PF Kwame Evans, 5-star SF Mookie Cook, and 4-star PG Jackson Shelstad. The group of new Ducks ranks as the No. 7 recruiting class in the nation during the 2023 cycle.

The 2023 recruiting cycle is far from over, as recruits have until May 17, 2023, to commit and sign. At the moment, though, the Ducks should feel extremely confident about who they are bringing into the fold.

Let’s take a closer look at who the Ducks are getting in the three prospects:

How to watch Bronny James, Oregon 5-star commits Mookie Cook, Kwame Evans this weekend

5-stars Mookie Cook, Kwame Evans, plus Bronny James all in one place this weekend? Here’s how Oregon fans can tune in.

While the No. 12 Oregon Ducks’ football team is enjoying a bye week before their showdown against No. 11 UCLA next weekend, fans may be looking for where to turn their attention this weekend.

We already laid out a number of highly-important games across the football landscape that Ducks fans need to at least pay attention to, but now it’s being revealed that some of the next Oregon superstars are going to be showing out on the hardwood from Friday through Sunday.

ESPN is going to air the GEICO Top Flight Invite, a club basketball event that features 8 of the most elite teams across the nation, competing in a three-day tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As it turns out, there are a number of top-rated recruits taking part that Duck fans can tune into see. Here’s everything you need to know as an Oregon fan about the tournament:

Oregon’s place in the 2023 national recruiting rankings following 5-star Mookie Cook’s commitment

The Ducks have landed 2 of the 3 highest-rated recruits in program history in the past couple of weeks. Here’s where they now rank nationally.

Dana Altman did it again.

After a brutal start to the summer that saw de-commitments from both 5-star PG Dior Johnson and 5-star SF Marquis ‘Mookie’ Cook, the Oregon Ducks were able to build up the 2023 recruiting class back to full strength.

On Friday, Cook announced that he would once again be committing to the Ducks after opening up his recruitment for the month of July and exploring his options. This comes not long after fellow 5-star PF Kwame Evans committed to the Ducks and gave Oregon some star-power in the class.

The addition of Evans moved Oregon all the way up from No. 31 in the national recruiting rankings to No. 7.

So where do the Ducks rank now with Cook in the mix as well? Take a look…

BREAKING: 5-star SF Mookie Cook announces commitment to Oregon Ducks

Dana got him back. 5-star Mookie Cook, the No. 4 player in the 2023 class, announced his commitment to the Ducks once again.

They did it once, and now they’ve done it again.

Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks added a massive piece to the 2023 recruiting class, snagging a commitment from 5-star small forward Marquis ‘Mookie’ Cook on Friday afternoon. Cook chose the Ducks over the Kentucky Wildcats, Gonzaga Bulldogs, and Arizona Wildcats.

Cook, who is rated as the No. 4 overall player in the 2023 class, previously committed to the Ducks earlier this year. He announced his de-commitment in June, claiming that he wanted to open up his recruitment once again.

Since then, Oregon has landed 5-star PF Kwame Evans, the No. 8 ranked player in the class, someone who Cook has a close relationship with. There’s been a feeling that the two desired to play at the college level together, and now it will happen.

The next step in the process is getting both Evans and Cook to sign on the dotted line with the Ducks, solidifying what could be one of the best recruiting classes in Oregon’s history.

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Mookie Cook’s Recruiting Profile