Kyan Evans Seeks To Provide Distributing, Shot Making For Tar Heels

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Kyan Evans and his Colorado State team took the premier stage that is the NCAA Tournament in March, and Evans answered the call in the Rams’ tournament opener by dropping 23 points in an upset victory against Memphis.

This year, when the regular season begins, the stage and stakes of every game will remain at a high level night in and night out for Evans. He transferred to North Carolina this offseason after turning in a productive sophomore season at Colorado State. He joins the Tar Heels looking to impact winning on a high-level team.

Evans averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game last season while knocking down 3-pointers at a 44.6% clip. He shot 47.1% from the field as a whole and 85.2% from the free throw line.

“You can’t leave any space, no space,” Evans said on Wednesday. “You want to try and keep me out of the paint, because I’m gonna get my teammates involved. But it’s hard to do both, so good luck.”

The 6-foot-2 Evans expressed that his understanding of the point guard position since coming to college has expanded, particularly his approach to the leadership role and ability to control the game.

After playing sparingly in his freshman season, just 8.1 minutes per game, Evans said he felt himself finding a groove early on in Mountain West play in his sophomore year. He recalled scoring 16 points against Nevada, shooting 5-8 from the field in a Rams win, and from there, he felt, “All right, I’m here, and I can do this.”

Evans joins a UNC team that lost Elliot Cadeau and RJ Davis from last season, as those departures opened up room at the point guard spot. This year’s North Carolina team includes players like Seth Trimble, Luka Bogavac and others who can handle the ball throughout the course of the game. Evans said the team hasn’t fully defined the ball-handling dynamics yet.

“We’re not really sure yet,” Evans said. “I think I’m the point guard, so I’m gonna be doing what a point guard does, and I’m gonna handle the ball, but I think they’ll handle the ball as well. And I think (Hubert Davis) is just gonna put us in the best position to be successful. And whatever that is, I don’t know what it looks like now, but I think we’ll all be pretty good at it, and we’ll excel at it.”

In Colorado State’s March win against Memphis, Evans connected on a career-high six 3-pointers. Evans connected on three or more 3-pointers in 13 games last season.

Fellow transfer Henri Veesaar, coming in from Arizona, said he has adapted to Evans’ style of play when it comes to his ability to shoot from three. He talked about playing with Evans in practice and running the pick-and-roll offense, giving Evans the opportunities he needs to rise up and knock down triples.

“He definitely needs the space to shoot, and he’s really good at it whenever anybody goes under,” Veesaar said on Wednesday. “So in practice, whenever I can, if I see anybody trying to decide if they should go over or under, I would try to maybe take a step higher. That way, I can just stay there in front of him, let him shoot behind me, because that way, there’s no contest. And he shoots it at such a high rate and so efficiently that I think it’s very hard for other teams to guard. And when he gets downhill, he has a really good floater, and he’s such a good decision maker and he stays very patient.”

In practice, Evans has found ways to connect with his new teammates on the court early on. Evans played with first-round draft pick Nique Clifford for two seasons, getting a front-row seat last season of Clifford’s breakout year. Clifford led the Rams in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

When asked about how he’s been learning his new teammates, Evans said he’s been able to rely on them well so far.

“I mean, I’m not gonna say it’s easier, but it almost is easier,” Evans said. “When you’re throwing the ball to Seth Trimble in transition, it’s easy to make a hit. He’ll make a play for you. So it’s different that way, but at the same time, we’re just building every day, trying to get better and just getting more connected.”

Evans comes in as a guard with playing experience and postseason experience, which he seeks to build on as a Tar Heel. As North Carolina continues to sort itself out with 10 new scholarship players, Evans gives the team an intriguing piece at point guard.

“The versatility, just his ability to be able to, from an offensive standpoint, make plays,” Davis said last week. “Whether it’s with the ball in his hand, coming off ball screens or off the ball actions, whether it’s flares or staggers or wide pins. And his versatility on the offensive end, being able to do that. He’s an excellent defensive player.

“So him coming here not only brings a high level of skill from a basketball standpoint, but also experience, and it’s something that we were looking for.”