Tosan Evbuomwan, Jared Rhoden join forces as G League teammates
The Princeton and Seton Hall alumni are starring for the Motor City Cruise as they work toward their NBA dreams.
If you’re a hoops fan in New Jersey, you’ve seen Jared Rhoden drop 25 points on a Big East opponent or two. You’ve seen Tosan Evbuomwan ball out for a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the close proximity between Seton Hall and Princeton, Rhoden and Evbuomwan never crossed paths during their college days. Now, those paths have converged unexpectedly in Detroit, as Rhoden and Evbuomwan are currently lighting up the G League as teammates on the Motor City Cruise.
The two forwards are working toward their NBA dreams, albeit at different stages. This is Rhoden’s second year of G League basketball, and he’s on a two-way contract for the Detroit Pistons – allowing for call-ups to the NBA when the Pistons need him. He made his NBA debut one year ago, playing 12 minutes for the Pistons against the Philadelphia 76ers, and has 19 NBA appearances to his name so far.
Evbuomwan is a rookie who joined the Pistons for NBA Summer League after going undrafted last June. That led to a contract with the Cruise, where he occasionally finds himself in awe of Rhoden, the team’s leading scorer.
“He probably hasn’t missed one midrange shot on the year. When he gets going he’s super tough to stop and makes it easier for the rest of us,” Evbuomwan told me on a Zoom call this week.
In the season-opening Showcase Cup tournament, Rhoden racked up 23.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game and has carried that over into the regular season with averages of 22.3, 6.3 and 3.0. The whole way, his 3-point percentage has hovered above 45 percent.
Evbuomwan has acclimated nicely as well. He’s still stuffing the stat sheet the way he did at Princeton – 14.7/8.3/4.6 in the Showcase Cup; 14.7/10.5/2.8 in six regular-season games – all while playing a different spot on the floor than Tigers fans are used to seeing him.
“I think being able to show I’m capable of playing on the perimeter, playing well on the perimeter, which I did less of at Princeton,” Evbuomwan said of his season. “The 3 ball, showing rhythm with that. … Just trying to dominate on both ends of the floor and help my team get some wins, really.”
Indeed, a solid 3-point shot has become a requirement of fours and fives at the pro level, and Evbuomwan has been serious about putting in the work. He made 11 triples in 32 games in his final year at Princeton. In 22 games for Motor City, he’s got 15.
“It’s definitely a different style of basketball than college and obviously I can’t speak to the NBA too much, but compared to college it’s definitely a quicker pace, a lot more scoring, more space on the floor,” Evbuomwan said.
Meanwhile, Rhoden just dropped 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting Tuesday in Motor City’s win over the Osceola Magic. His highlights are peppered throughout this game recap clip, where we can see him take it to the basket with authority, just like his days in Pirate blue:
Rhoden could wind up visiting Indianapolis for NBA All-Star Weekend. The “G League Next Up Game” was introduced last year as part of All-Star festivities. Of the 28 players who will participate, the league will select eight members of G League Ignite and 10 players from elsewhere in the league, and the other 10 are determined by a fan vote that runs through Jan. 23.
Reaching that stage, basically earning the G League equivalent of an All-Star nod, would be a benchmark for Rhoden as he tries to break into the NBA full-time.
“It is tough” being on a two-way contract, Rhoden told the Guardian last fall. (Rhoden was not available for this story). “There were times last year when I was on the road, and I’d get a call to fly somewhere else to play. It’s challenging on your body and on your mind.”
“He’s very about his basketball, professional in that way, very about his business,” Evbuomwan told me. “It’s good to be around that, especially as a first-year guy. He’s very focused and clearly very motivated to do what we all want to do. It’s encouraging to have that your first year as well, to be around that.”
Rhoden has set that example for teammates to model, and he’s been approachable as he does so.
“We’re cool, we joke around. He’s a good guy,” Evbuomwan said. “Obviously on the court as well, I look for him a lot. He’s a hell of a shooter. He’s playing really well all year and I’m sure it’ll keep going.”
It makes you wonder if they ever chat about their alma maters. After all, both are flying high right now, with Seton Hall upsetting UConn, Providence and Marquette in recent weeks, and Princeton thumping Harvard by 31 last weekend to start its season 13-1.
“Not bad, huh?” Evbuomwan said. “Yeah, they’re playing really well. It’s good to see. It’s really fun to be watching them as an alum and cheering for them … it’s the best.”
………
Thanks for spending some time here today, amid all this crazy football coaching news. It was nice for me to get away from the daily news of the college game and tell you about some Jersey alums who could be on their way to big things.
I’m keeping this closing section short today – by now you know all about Rutgers’ and Seton Hall’s results from Tuesday. The top of the Big East is ruled by the Tri-State Area: Seton Hall, St. John’s and UConn are tied for the lead at 4-1. The Pirates get to host St. John’s next Tuesday, but first they have to visit a good Butler team that just beat Marquette.
But my upcoming schedule will take me to Fairleigh Dickinson this Saturday for the first time this season, then to Rutgers on Wednesday to cover its game against Nebraska. Stay tuned, and stay out of these storms if you can help it.