In between morning drills and afternoon games at the High Academic Showcase on Monday, July 20, all was quiet inside the Field House Sports and Fitness Center in Waukegan.
The same can’t be said for the talk surrounding Niles West’s senior-to-be Evan Hines. From a relative unknown as a junior, the 6-foot-4 guard has risen up the recruiting rankings in a short time. Earlier this month, Joe Henricksen, who runs the City/Suburban Hoops Report, wrote that Hines is among the state’s top-30 prospects for the Class of 2016.
“The buzz has gotten bigger,” said Hines, a Skokie resident who plays for Fundamental University in the offseason. “It’s pretty exciting. I feel the energy every time I go into the gym. It pumps me up. The summer has been really fun.”
The book on Hines, a two-year varsity starter at Niles West, is that he’s a natural long-range shooter with the athleticism to get to the rim. He’s a serviceable rebounder, defender and ball-handler with room to improve, according to Niles West boys basketball coach Bob Williams and Mike Weinstein, Hines’ AAU coach.
“He’s got the talent and potential to be a Division I player,” Weinstein said. “He just needs to be more consistent everywhere.”
Williams said almost the same thing.
“He has all the tools,” Williams said. “There are times when he shows off his amazing ability. But he has to be more consistent.”
The biggest jump Hines said he’s made over the last year has been between the ears. The better he controls his emotions, the more consistent he will be as a player, Hines said.
Hines has even found ways to prevent an on-court meltdown.
“When I was a freshman and something wouldn’t go right, the littlest thing, I would starting flipping out and get out of my game,” he said. “My sophomore year, it happened, too. This year, I’ve really worked on that. If something is not going right, I will start clapping to myself. If I can’t hold it in, I will call for a sub. If I can’t control my emotions, it not only affects me, but it affects everyone around me.”
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Weinstein and Williams both said they’ve seen Hines make big strides with his maturity over the last several months.
“His biggest battle always seemed to be playing through adversity,” Williams said. “But he’s shown signs of getting past that.”
Since sixth grade, Hines said his dream has been to play college basketball. He now has opportunities to achieve that goal.
So far, Hines said he has Division I offers from Chicago State and Hampton, which played in the NCAA Tournament this past season. Weinstein said other interested colleges include Illinois-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Wright State and Green Bay.
It’s likely Hines will pick up more offers soon as he’s playing at the Las Vegas Classic, a national AAU tournament, with Fundamental U this week.
“It’s good to be excited about all the attention, but I don’t want to get too excited that it takes me out of my game,” Hines said. “I just want to stay calm, not force anything and let the game come to me.”
Twitter: @harnesspreps.com