East Carolina Pirates

Actually, he found them.

Brandon Evans, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Liberty Technology Magnet High School in Jackson, Tenn., signed a letter of intent to join the Pirates in Greenville on Wednesday morning — the final day of his official visit at the university.

The signing comes after Evans, who originally committed to play at Murray State during the fall, was granted a release from his letter of intent when former Racers coach Mick Cronin accepted the head coaching job at Cincinnati. After hearing of Cronin's departure and obtaining his release, Evans immediately called the ECU coaching staff, which said it would welcome him with open arms.

"I like the coaching staff and the atmosphere at East Carolina," said Evans, a prolific shooter who averaged 19.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game while leading Liberty Tech to the Tennessee Class AA state title last season. "You could just tell there was a really friendly atmosphere there. That made me want to be a part of it."

Aside from the Pirates recruiting him during the fall, Evans became quite familiar with ECU while spending the first two seasons of his high school career at Fayetteville Westover. At the start of his junior season, his family moved to Jackson, where he began playing for coach Dexter Williams.

Evans, who was considered to be the prize recruit of Murray State's fall class, became familiar with ECU assistant Chris Ferguson when the coach recruited him during Ferguson's coaching stint at Tennessee, and that was one of the influential factors in his decision.

Also, Evans says he is anxious to get an opportunity to help the Pirates attain the same success that his 33-4 Liberty squad experienced this past season.

"I enjoyed every bit of the run while competing for the state title," Evans said. "I want to compete for championships in college also. I can see they're rebuilding at ECU and I'm looking forward to being a part of it."