Evans Asks for Release from Letter of Intent

Troubled Maryland recruit Tyree Evans, who has created controversy over the past month due to his checkered past, has asked for a release from his letter of intent. "After much thought, Tyree felt Maryland was not the best fit for him at this time and I support his decision," head coach Gary Williams said. "We wish him well in the future." Evans, a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com, has been the subject of many recent articles regarding his past. Over the past four years, he was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession; pleaded guilty to a reduced assault-related misdemeanor after being accused of statutory rape; charged with trespassing; received probation for marijuana possession; and also had a handgun charge that was not pursued by prosecutors. Athletic director Debbie Yow said she did not know about Evans' past while Williams was recruiting him.

Evans' coach at Motlow State Community College, Dan Steinburg, said the decision to get a release was Evans' decision and he did it because of the negative publicity he had been receiving lately. "Hearing about all that stuff and people started telling him, it was just constantly a struggle. It seemed like every day it was something new," Steinburg said. "He and I just talked about it two days ago and said, 'Let's go ahead and opt out.'" Evans originally chose the Terrapins over Arizona, Florida State and Kansas State.

Rick Maese of the Baltimore Sun thinks that Maryland should not have recruited Evans in the first place, citing his litany of criminal charges. "The carefully orchestrated announcement yesterday that Evans is being released from his letter of intent was an attempt to save face - for Evans and for Maryland basketball," Mease writes. "Unfortunately, for the Terps at least, it was a failed attempt." Furthermore, Mease writes that Evans' troubled past should have scared off Williams and the Terrapins as soon as they found out about it. "Evans' recruitment should have never reached this point," he writes. "The stunning thing today isn't that Williams didn't get his man. It's that he wanted him in the first place."