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Maurice Evans: Sharing the love
By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer
Published Saturday, January 22, 2005
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SACRAMENTO -- The basketball odyssey of Maurice Evans goes back to the kitchen floor in Wichita, Kan., but the backyard is where it really started getting good. [/font]
"Oh, man, when Maurice got to the 11th or 12th grade, I stopped playing him," said his father, George. "He kept dunking on me in front of my friends."
Evans had to go around the world before finding a role with the Sacramento Kings, but now he's contributing to a winner in enough ways to put people on their feet and stitches in his scalp.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard has the markings of a hustler and plays a hustler's game. He runs. He jumps. He gives the Kings a lift off the bench and plays each minute like he owes it to someone.
"I've made it this far, but I know where I came from," Evans said. "I know how hard it was for my parents when I was growing up."
Evans wasn't the nation's biggest recruit as a kid in Kansas. He didn't have an identity as a rookie in Minnesota, and he didn't have many prospects for stateside employment when he went overseas after the Timberwolves released him in 2002. The one thing Evans always had was family, and that always seemed to be enough.
"They supported me through everything," Evans said. "I love them to death."
His mother and father were the first to detect his dreams. Their home pulsed with the constant sounds of their son and his basketball. He dribbled in the bedroom, in the hallway, even while getting hair cuts from his father in the kitchen.
"Maurice didn't go anywhere without that ball," his father said. "He'd just sit there bouncing it between his legs. I used to holler so much about putting that ball up, I didn't know what to do."
Evans remembers the encouragement, the love, the way his parents worked to support him and his sister. His mother, Cathy, is a government warehouse worker. His father, a plumber, performed side jobs for fistfuls of cash because 60-hour workweeks for Roto-Rooter didn't always cover unexpected costs.
"I used to re-pipe houses and give Maurice the money," his father said. "He needed it, and God gave me the skills to pay the bills.
"It was hard sometimes, but we made it. We don't have a whole lot of money, but we got a whole buncha love. We just did whatever it took."
Evans remembers one time when his father walked out the front door with empty pockets and, after hours of doing odd jobs, returned with enough money to send his son to basketball camp.
"I needed money, and we didn't have any," Evans said. "My dad said, 'I'll be back,' and just like that, he was gone. He came back later and gave me all the money in cash, and not like a crisp, clean hundred-dollar bill or anything like that. There would be 20s, 10s, some ones in there. I always appreciated that because I know how hard he worked."
His father's hard work allowed Evans to attend prestigious camps. He was on the radar with college recruiters as a high school standout at Wichita Collegiate, but Evans often was outshined by other stars.
He had offers from bigger programs such as Kansas and Oklahoma State but chose Wichita State so he could stay close to family. His decision stunned recruiters and sparked a two-and-a-half month investigation into possible recruiting violations by Wichita State, but the NCAA imposed no sanctions.
Evans finished ninth in the nation with 22.6 points per game as a freshman in 1998-99. He thought that might improve his stock with NBA scouts, but it didn't. Evans decided he needed a bigger stage and transferred to Texas, where he sat out one season to fulfill transfer requirements before leading the Longhorns with 15.6 points per game in 2000-01.
Evans garnered more attention at Texas, but the reviews were mixed. NBA scouts loved his size and slashing ability, but they criticized his jump shot and questioned his ball-handling ability.
Evans took a chance. He hired an agent -- forfeiting what remained of his college eligibility -- and entered the 2001 NBA draft.
No one called his name.
It was a big setback for Evans, but his father never let him feel sorry for himself.
"I'd always tell him, if basketball didn't work out, he could be a plumber's helper," George said. "He would get so mad at me."
Mad wasn't so bad at the time. It just made Evans more determined. He made the team in Minnesota as a rookie free agent but didn't get many opportunities. He averaged 2.1 points in 4.5 minutes per game for the Timberwolves in 2001-02 and was released in October 2002.
Evans left the country and spent nearly two years overseas, honing skills with teams in Greece, Italy and Russia. He was a long way from home, but his plan was working.
He was named MVP of the Italian League All-Star Game and won the Italian Cup with Benetton Treviso after leading the league in scoring in 2004. He became a star in Europe and saw the evolution of his game come naturally with more time on the floor.
"I think I could have evolved here, playing in the NBA, but you don't get much better sitting at the end of anyone's bench," Evans said. "How do you get better if you don't play? You want to judge yourself in competitive situations. I got to do that in Europe, but I didn't get to do that when I played for Minnesota. I was there for 82 games, and no one even remembers."
Geoff Petrie remembered.
The Kings' president of basketball operations signed Evans in October to a one-year contract for $620,000, an NBA bargain considering the way he's put hustle ahead of health since getting more minutes because of Bobby Jackson's injury.
Evans spilled blood on the floor at ARCO and needed 12 stitches to close a gash on his head after a foul by Utah's Carlos Boozer led to a frightening fall on Jan. 13. Evans suffered a concussion and a hairline fracture in his ribcage, but he was bandaged and back on the court for the Kings two days later.
Evans is shooting 58 percent and averaging 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 turnovers over the last 14 games. He was particularly impressive in a 109-107 loss to Miami on Dec. 23, when he had 12 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.
"That's not a flash, ladies and gentleman, that's what he does every single day in practice," Kings forward Chris Webber told reporters after the game. "He's going to be a monster one day if he keeps playing like that."
A woman in Wichita is smiling now, and a father is reminiscing with friends about the first time his son made the rim rattle.
It doesn't seem so long ago. Evans has been around the world and back, but those closest to him still remember the sound of the ball bouncing off the walls in the kitchen.
"I remember Maurice bouncing that ball all the time -- all the time," his mother said. "That's why, when they say he doesn't have ball skills, we're just like, 'Oh, OK.' That's the kind of stuff that makes him more competitive, when someone says he's not capable."
He's heard it before, but not so much lately. "I might have taken roads less traveled, but I'm still here," Evans said. "I made it."
Maurice Evans: Sharing the love
By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer
Published Saturday, January 22, 2005
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SACRAMENTO -- The basketball odyssey of Maurice Evans goes back to the kitchen floor in Wichita, Kan., but the backyard is where it really started getting good. [/font]"Oh, man, when Maurice got to the 11th or 12th grade, I stopped playing him," said his father, George. "He kept dunking on me in front of my friends."
Evans had to go around the world before finding a role with the Sacramento Kings, but now he's contributing to a winner in enough ways to put people on their feet and stitches in his scalp.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard has the markings of a hustler and plays a hustler's game. He runs. He jumps. He gives the Kings a lift off the bench and plays each minute like he owes it to someone.
"I've made it this far, but I know where I came from," Evans said. "I know how hard it was for my parents when I was growing up."
Evans wasn't the nation's biggest recruit as a kid in Kansas. He didn't have an identity as a rookie in Minnesota, and he didn't have many prospects for stateside employment when he went overseas after the Timberwolves released him in 2002. The one thing Evans always had was family, and that always seemed to be enough.
"They supported me through everything," Evans said. "I love them to death."
His mother and father were the first to detect his dreams. Their home pulsed with the constant sounds of their son and his basketball. He dribbled in the bedroom, in the hallway, even while getting hair cuts from his father in the kitchen.
"Maurice didn't go anywhere without that ball," his father said. "He'd just sit there bouncing it between his legs. I used to holler so much about putting that ball up, I didn't know what to do."
Evans remembers the encouragement, the love, the way his parents worked to support him and his sister. His mother, Cathy, is a government warehouse worker. His father, a plumber, performed side jobs for fistfuls of cash because 60-hour workweeks for Roto-Rooter didn't always cover unexpected costs.
"I used to re-pipe houses and give Maurice the money," his father said. "He needed it, and God gave me the skills to pay the bills.
"It was hard sometimes, but we made it. We don't have a whole lot of money, but we got a whole buncha love. We just did whatever it took."
Evans remembers one time when his father walked out the front door with empty pockets and, after hours of doing odd jobs, returned with enough money to send his son to basketball camp.
"I needed money, and we didn't have any," Evans said. "My dad said, 'I'll be back,' and just like that, he was gone. He came back later and gave me all the money in cash, and not like a crisp, clean hundred-dollar bill or anything like that. There would be 20s, 10s, some ones in there. I always appreciated that because I know how hard he worked."
His father's hard work allowed Evans to attend prestigious camps. He was on the radar with college recruiters as a high school standout at Wichita Collegiate, but Evans often was outshined by other stars.
He had offers from bigger programs such as Kansas and Oklahoma State but chose Wichita State so he could stay close to family. His decision stunned recruiters and sparked a two-and-a-half month investigation into possible recruiting violations by Wichita State, but the NCAA imposed no sanctions.
Evans finished ninth in the nation with 22.6 points per game as a freshman in 1998-99. He thought that might improve his stock with NBA scouts, but it didn't. Evans decided he needed a bigger stage and transferred to Texas, where he sat out one season to fulfill transfer requirements before leading the Longhorns with 15.6 points per game in 2000-01.
Evans garnered more attention at Texas, but the reviews were mixed. NBA scouts loved his size and slashing ability, but they criticized his jump shot and questioned his ball-handling ability.
Evans took a chance. He hired an agent -- forfeiting what remained of his college eligibility -- and entered the 2001 NBA draft.
No one called his name.
It was a big setback for Evans, but his father never let him feel sorry for himself.
"I'd always tell him, if basketball didn't work out, he could be a plumber's helper," George said. "He would get so mad at me."
Mad wasn't so bad at the time. It just made Evans more determined. He made the team in Minnesota as a rookie free agent but didn't get many opportunities. He averaged 2.1 points in 4.5 minutes per game for the Timberwolves in 2001-02 and was released in October 2002.
Evans left the country and spent nearly two years overseas, honing skills with teams in Greece, Italy and Russia. He was a long way from home, but his plan was working.
He was named MVP of the Italian League All-Star Game and won the Italian Cup with Benetton Treviso after leading the league in scoring in 2004. He became a star in Europe and saw the evolution of his game come naturally with more time on the floor.
"I think I could have evolved here, playing in the NBA, but you don't get much better sitting at the end of anyone's bench," Evans said. "How do you get better if you don't play? You want to judge yourself in competitive situations. I got to do that in Europe, but I didn't get to do that when I played for Minnesota. I was there for 82 games, and no one even remembers."
Geoff Petrie remembered.
The Kings' president of basketball operations signed Evans in October to a one-year contract for $620,000, an NBA bargain considering the way he's put hustle ahead of health since getting more minutes because of Bobby Jackson's injury.
Evans spilled blood on the floor at ARCO and needed 12 stitches to close a gash on his head after a foul by Utah's Carlos Boozer led to a frightening fall on Jan. 13. Evans suffered a concussion and a hairline fracture in his ribcage, but he was bandaged and back on the court for the Kings two days later.
Evans is shooting 58 percent and averaging 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 turnovers over the last 14 games. He was particularly impressive in a 109-107 loss to Miami on Dec. 23, when he had 12 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.
"That's not a flash, ladies and gentleman, that's what he does every single day in practice," Kings forward Chris Webber told reporters after the game. "He's going to be a monster one day if he keeps playing like that."
A woman in Wichita is smiling now, and a father is reminiscing with friends about the first time his son made the rim rattle.
It doesn't seem so long ago. Evans has been around the world and back, but those closest to him still remember the sound of the ball bouncing off the walls in the kitchen.
"I remember Maurice bouncing that ball all the time -- all the time," his mother said. "That's why, when they say he doesn't have ball skills, we're just like, 'Oh, OK.' That's the kind of stuff that makes him more competitive, when someone says he's not capable."
He's heard it before, but not so much lately. "I might have taken roads less traveled, but I'm still here," Evans said. "I made it."
