Tosan Evbuomwan was an integral part of Princeton’s Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 – and has since attracted attention from NBA teams. In large part because of how Evbuomwan marshaled the 15-seed Tiger’s offense under coach Mitch Henderson. Now Evbuomwan looks to have his name called at the NBA draft.
Breaking Down Princeton’s British Point Forward
Background
Evbuomwan began playing basketball in his hometown of Newcastle, England. Initially, he was a member of the Newcastle United academy before picking up basketball. He went on to join the Newcastle Eagles academy to develop his raw skills.
The move to Princeton came from Evbuomwan and his father’s desire for him to gain a high-quality education. A highlight reel was sent to the top schools in the USA and Princeton took notice. By chance, a Princeton coach was in England and went to watch Evbuomwan play. After this, he received an offer to play for the Tigers.
As a freshman, Evbuomwan was a rotational player averaging 3.9ppg on 14.3mpg. His sophomore season was canceled due to the pandemic. As a junior Evbuomwan stepped into a leading role for Henderson’s Tigers. He averaged 16ppg 6.7rpg and 5.1apg. This won him Ivy League Player of the Year. This past season, Evbuomwan averaged similar numbers but importantly made the NCAA tournament. This allowed him to play against tougher competition and audition for NBA teams.
Following the Tigers’ Sweet 16 exit, Evbuomwan declared for the NBA draft – despite having eligibility to transfer for his final year.
Strengths
Ebvuomwan was relied on heavily as a ball handler as both a junior and senior. He is comfortable pushing the pace in transition – an asset in the modern NBA. With the ball, he uses changes of pace to create driving opportunities. He is also a willing playmaker and capable of running offensive sets.
He possesses good passing skills and can thread the ball into tight windows to create for his teammates. Whilst driving he is comfortable passing out drives and shot attempts to teammates cutting into space as the defense collapses on his drive. Also, Evbuomwan has good court vision and anticipates his teammates’ off-ball movement well.
At the NCAA tournament, he demonstrated his ability to finish around the rim. A lot of his layups originate from a strong hesitation dribble which sets defenders up for him to finish over. He is also capable of working out of the post and often half-spins to create space for his hook shot the other way.
Tosan Evbuomwan has one of the more unique skill sets in this year’s NBA draft which should appeal to NBA teams.
Weaknesses
Despite improvements to his percentage as a senior, Evbuomwan is still a limited 3pt shooter. Additionally, he was a low-volume jump shooter in college. This is possibly due to his role as the primary ball handler.
He also struggles from the foul line – with his best percentage coming last year at 65.5%. This signals he may struggle to develop his shot in the NBA.
Another concern is his defensive ability. This is partially due to his role for the Tigers. He was often tasked with guarding the opposing bigs and as such had limited opportunities to showcase his ability on the perimeter. He has the size to be a good defensive wing in the NBA but lacks the required lateral quickness to defend on the perimeter.
NBA Draft Outlook
Tosan Evbuomwan has been invited for private workouts with several teams. He also received an invite to the NBA Combine following a strong showing at the G-League Elite Camp. These are important events for Evbuomwan’s draft stock due to questions over the level of competition he faced at Princeton.
Overall, Tosan Evbuomwan projects as a mid-second-round pick in the 2023 draft. His skill set is suited to a modern NBA which values positional versatility – which is provided by his ability to run an offense.
