The following tragic tale from the Delaware County Times’ Marlene DiGiacamo wouldn’t ordinarily be fodder for the sports blogs where it not for a prominent name that surfaces in the 4th graph.
As soulful sobbing echoed through the courtroom from the victim™s relatives, a judge Tuesday told Jamar Evans that when he pulled the trigger and snuffed out the life of another youth in a senseless street shooting, he was œhorrendously wrong.
Judge Ann Osborne sentenced Evans, 18, of Chester to nine to 20 years in jail, to be followed by eight years of probation, in the Nov. 25, 2007, fatal shooting in Chester Township. Marcus Reason, 19, was gunned down by Evans, who opened fire from a car.
The car, in which Evans was a passenger and from where the fatal shot was fired, was driven by his cousin, Tyreke Evans (above), a standout basketball player this past season for the University of Memphis. He was also a star at the now-defunct American Christian School.
Tyreke Evans was not charged in connection with the case and had been expected to testify in his cousin™s behalf, but has not been present during any of the county court proceedings.
The New York Daily News’ Frank Isola suggests the Knicks are trying to choose between Tyreke Evans and Duke’s Gerald Henderson with 8th overall selection in tonight’s NBA Draft. There’s probably not a tactful way to ask Evans about his cousin’s sentencing this evening, but in the event he slips out of the top 10, it should at the very least be mentioned during ESPN’s coverage.