http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/11864793p-12751751c.html
A 'beast' is beauty to Kings players
Maurice Evans is drawing praise from his teammates for his active contribution.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, December 25, 2004
Soft-spoken Maurice Evans pulls off one heck of a combination. He's as confident in his skills as he is humble and respectful.
And in the wake of the wrist injury that threatens to sideline Kings sixth man Bobby Jackson for months, Evans knows he will have every opportunity to display those considerable skills.
"He's a beast in practice," Kings power forward Chris Webber said of Evans, 26, two weeks ago.
And Evans wasn't half bad Thursday night during the Kings' 109-107 loss to the Miami Heat. In addition to Jackson being out with injury, Kings guard Doug Christie was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two technicals, creating even more playing time for Evans.
In 25 minutes, Evans scored a season-high 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds (seven offensive) and had one steal while playing well defensively against Miami's Dwyane Wade, one of the NBA's rising stars.
Neither Evans nor his Kings teammates were surprised by his success. The cherry on the ice cream for Evans was that his mother, father and sister, two nephews and one niece attended the game.
It's much easier for the Wichita, Kan., native's family to travel to Sacramento than to Italy, where Evans played the previous two seasons.
"Yeah, that was cool to have them here and for everything to fall into place like that," Evans said. "But we have (57 regular-season) games left, and I'm not one to get satisfied, especially with just personal statistics.
"We didn't win the game, and that's what I want to help this team do. I was just as happy when I was sitting on the bench and we were winning games. I know I can do a lot more than I did (Thursday night). I've worked hard to get here."
Evans is a sleek, explosive, quick-jumping, high-rising, 6-foot-5, 220-pound athletic specimen. He's capable of playing shooting guard and small forward, and has plans to expand his game. One of the knocks on Evans has been his inability to make perimeter shots, but he has knocked down shots as a King.
"I've got a lot to prove," said Evans, who made himself eligible for the 2001 NBA draft following his junior season at Texas. "I came in undrafted after being told I was going to be a first-round pick. I came into the league with a lot of players who have been pretty successful. And I came through the same Nike camps and being mentioned with the same All-America status.
"I'm not bitter by any means. I feel honored that I'm able to play in this league, and I want to show I belong. But most of all, I'm playing on a good team, a playoff team, and I know I can help this team, and that's what I want to do."
In 2001, the Kings drafted Gerald Wallace in the first round and Maurice Jeffers in the second. Evans signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an undrafted free agent and played in 10 games during the 2001-02 season.
Christie, who often opposes Evans in practice, has been impressed by his new teammate.
"I love Mo's game," Christie said Thursday night. "I've told him what I thought for him to be a good player in this league, because he has all the ability to be pretty much what he wants to be. I just told him he needs to improve his dribbling.
"I see his athletic ability and his strength and competitiveness. He has all the things you need. You're going to take some bumps and bruises out there playing against those (stars) when you don't have the green light like them."
Evans said he has been working diligently on his ballhandling.
"I want to get to where Doug is handling the ball," Evans said. "He's really smooth and can play a lot of positions. But like (Thursday night) when Bobby was out and Doug went out, we didn't have a backup point guard. I want to be able to bring the ball up and be able to run the team."
Said Webber after Evans' contribution against the Heat: "That's not a flash, ladies and gentlemen. That's what he does every single day. He's going to be a monster one day if he keeps playing like that."
The Bee's Martin McNeal may be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com
A 'beast' is beauty to Kings players
Maurice Evans is drawing praise from his teammates for his active contribution.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, December 25, 2004
Soft-spoken Maurice Evans pulls off one heck of a combination. He's as confident in his skills as he is humble and respectful.
And in the wake of the wrist injury that threatens to sideline Kings sixth man Bobby Jackson for months, Evans knows he will have every opportunity to display those considerable skills.
"He's a beast in practice," Kings power forward Chris Webber said of Evans, 26, two weeks ago.
And Evans wasn't half bad Thursday night during the Kings' 109-107 loss to the Miami Heat. In addition to Jackson being out with injury, Kings guard Doug Christie was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two technicals, creating even more playing time for Evans.
In 25 minutes, Evans scored a season-high 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds (seven offensive) and had one steal while playing well defensively against Miami's Dwyane Wade, one of the NBA's rising stars.
Neither Evans nor his Kings teammates were surprised by his success. The cherry on the ice cream for Evans was that his mother, father and sister, two nephews and one niece attended the game.
It's much easier for the Wichita, Kan., native's family to travel to Sacramento than to Italy, where Evans played the previous two seasons.
"Yeah, that was cool to have them here and for everything to fall into place like that," Evans said. "But we have (57 regular-season) games left, and I'm not one to get satisfied, especially with just personal statistics.
"We didn't win the game, and that's what I want to help this team do. I was just as happy when I was sitting on the bench and we were winning games. I know I can do a lot more than I did (Thursday night). I've worked hard to get here."
Evans is a sleek, explosive, quick-jumping, high-rising, 6-foot-5, 220-pound athletic specimen. He's capable of playing shooting guard and small forward, and has plans to expand his game. One of the knocks on Evans has been his inability to make perimeter shots, but he has knocked down shots as a King.
"I've got a lot to prove," said Evans, who made himself eligible for the 2001 NBA draft following his junior season at Texas. "I came in undrafted after being told I was going to be a first-round pick. I came into the league with a lot of players who have been pretty successful. And I came through the same Nike camps and being mentioned with the same All-America status.
"I'm not bitter by any means. I feel honored that I'm able to play in this league, and I want to show I belong. But most of all, I'm playing on a good team, a playoff team, and I know I can help this team, and that's what I want to do."
In 2001, the Kings drafted Gerald Wallace in the first round and Maurice Jeffers in the second. Evans signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an undrafted free agent and played in 10 games during the 2001-02 season.
Christie, who often opposes Evans in practice, has been impressed by his new teammate.
"I love Mo's game," Christie said Thursday night. "I've told him what I thought for him to be a good player in this league, because he has all the ability to be pretty much what he wants to be. I just told him he needs to improve his dribbling.
"I see his athletic ability and his strength and competitiveness. He has all the things you need. You're going to take some bumps and bruises out there playing against those (stars) when you don't have the green light like them."
Evans said he has been working diligently on his ballhandling.
"I want to get to where Doug is handling the ball," Evans said. "He's really smooth and can play a lot of positions. But like (Thursday night) when Bobby was out and Doug went out, we didn't have a backup point guard. I want to be able to bring the ball up and be able to run the team."
Said Webber after Evans' contribution against the Heat: "That's not a flash, ladies and gentlemen. That's what he does every single day. He's going to be a monster one day if he keeps playing like that."
The Bee's Martin McNeal may be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com
Go Evans! Go Kings!
