SE: Q&A with K-State MBB Legend Mike Evans
Jan 25, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
It would have been hard to fit more history, in terms of K-State basketball, at one table.
Mike Evans, a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year, sat across from Rolando Blackman, a Big Eight Player of the Year and All-American. Pretty soon, Chuckie Williams joined — Evans' counterpart in the Purple Pop-Gun duo from the 1970s. So, there sat No. 2, 3 and 10 on K-State's all-time scoring list, respectively, with more than 5,000 combined points in their K-State careers.
The occasion: K-State's annual Legends Weekend. It took place last weekend, when 75 men's basketball alums and family members returned to watch K-State's win over TCU in Bramlage Coliseum.
For Evans, who played from 1974-78 under Jack Hartman before a nine-year NBA career turned into a coaching stint and some work as an analyst, it was his first time back in Bramlage Coliseum since K-State's three seniors — Dean Wade, Barry Brown Jr., and Kamau Stokes — were sophomores.
In between then and now, the program has undergone a lot of growth, led by those three. The Wildcats went from being the last team in the NCAA Tournament in 2017 to an Elite Eight run last year. Now, seven games into Big 12 play, K-State sits in a tie for first with Kansas.
Evans, who sat down with K-State Sports Extra, has not been surprised by any of it.
SE: First off, welcome back. How long has it been?
ME: I came back for a basketball game not last year but the year before, when the team wasn't doing so well at that point. But I always knew that Coach (Weber), being the coach that I remember when I was scouting for Denver and he was at Illinois, I knew what Coach was capable of doing. It was just a matter of time, getting the guys to listen and success was right around the corner.
SE: What about your previous experience with Coach Weber made you believe that it was just a matter of time?
ME: Because I saw the guards that he had — Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head. He had some guys at Illinois that just played extremely hard. They were always doing things the right way. The success that I saw at Illinois, I knew that once he got his bearings here and got the players that he wanted in here, things would turn around.
SE: Back to you. What's it like for you each time you do come back? Does it still somewhat put you in awe, seeing how much this city has changed?
ME: I have no clue where I'm going sometimes. I don't recognize the city as much. But the student enthusiasm is still the same. They show up. As I used to say, they show up when the team shows out. That purple spirit just emanates, whether it's in the football stadium or the basketball arena.
SE: What about when you get around former teammates, other K-State alums, like you have been able to this weekend?
ME: Oh, Chuckie, Rolando, Darryl Winston, we have a connection that can never be broken. So, when we see each other – we haven't seen each other in years – but when we get together it's like we've been talking to each other every day. That's just a connection. It's what sports do. It brings us together in that way, it keeps us connected, even when we are not close to each other.
SE: Are there specific stories that are brought up when you get together?
ME: Sometimes things that you forget, that you've forgotten about. These guys keep you grounded (laughs). That's our job for each other.
SE: I'm always curious how people wind up here. You originally came from North Carolina. What's your recruiting story?
ME: I was doing scouting for the Denver Nuggets, and I was calling Dean Smith on behalf of one of his players, Jeff McInnis. Talking to Dean, I was trying to get some information because we were considering him for one of our picks, but Dean gave very little information about any of his players. So, he finally gave me some information that I could use, take back to my GM, and then I thanked him. I was getting ready to get off the phone, and he said, 'Hey, did I ever tell you the story about how you got to Kansas State?' I was, like, 'What? No, Coach. What are you talking about?' He said, 'Let me tell you the story.'
(Continued) He told me that it went back to when I was at Laurinburg Prep. He came up to me and offered me an opportunity to go to the University of North Carolina. I was really happy, ecstatic about the opportunity, but then he told me he couldn't give me a scholarship. It kind of cut the legs from under me. He said, 'It's not that I don't want to. I promised one of my point guards that I wouldn't recruit another player at that position.' He said, 'After you said you couldn't do that, (walk on), I went to a coaches meeting with Jack Hartman and Bill Guthridge,' who went to school here. Dean went to the University of Kansas. They were sitting and talking, he and Jack Hartman, and he asked Jack how his recruiting was going. Jack told him that he felt good about his frontcourt, but he had lost Lon Kruger and Danny Beard, and he wasn't too happy about his point guard situation. Dean Smith said, 'Well, you need to go and check out the kid, Evans, at Laurinburg.' Chuck Garrett, who was the assistant coach, great man, flew in and brought me out here. I fell in love with the place and signed, and that's how I got here.
SE: When you look back now, how do you reflect on that story and the impact this place had on your life?
ME: Everything happens for a reason. I think you're put in position to take advantage of opportunities that come to you. Dean Smith, in that moment, was there at the right time. It led to the opportunity for me to come to K-State and to meet the people that I've met here at K-State, to be under the tutelage of Jack Hartman, to be around the people today that were here before I got here and had an impact on Willie Murrell, Bob Boozer, Jack Parr, Jerry Johnson, there's so many guys that I had a chance to, for the first time, sit down in this environment, in the Legends (Weekend) and talk with. Just to spend that quality time, share stories and remembrances, it's special, and it was long overdue for me.
SE: You had a heck of an NBA career, as a player, coach and TV analyst. What are you up to now? Enjoying Retirement?
ME: I am enjoying retirement (in Colorado). I was coaching girls (basketball) at a competitive level, helping out one of my former players with his organization. I spent so much time at home that my wife went and got a job (laughs). It's been great. It's not retirement that I was wanting at the time. It was a forced retirement kind of thing. The league (NBA), as it is, it's getting younger, so you have to step aside and let the younger guys have their opportunity.
SE: Have you picked up any new hobbies?
ME: I love to fly-fish. I've been up to Montana and a lot of places in Wyoming. That's a hobby that I enjoy.
SE: When K-State's on national TV, are you usually in front of yours? (K-State will face Texas A&M in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in College Station, Texas, on ESPN on Saturday at 1 p.m.)
ME: I record every game. Whether I'm there at the time or not, I record the game and go back and watch. I love watching them play. I love what Coach has done. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.
SE: What have been your impressions of this year's team?
ME: They're resilient. When Wade came back, it made all the difference in the world. Brown's playing incredible right now. Guys are finding their roles, where they fit in and moving the ball better. They know who the guys are that need to take the shots. Their defense has been outstanding. I'm feeling good about it right now… feeling good about it.
It would have been hard to fit more history, in terms of K-State basketball, at one table.
Mike Evans, a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year, sat across from Rolando Blackman, a Big Eight Player of the Year and All-American. Pretty soon, Chuckie Williams joined — Evans' counterpart in the Purple Pop-Gun duo from the 1970s. So, there sat No. 2, 3 and 10 on K-State's all-time scoring list, respectively, with more than 5,000 combined points in their K-State careers.
The occasion: K-State's annual Legends Weekend. It took place last weekend, when 75 men's basketball alums and family members returned to watch K-State's win over TCU in Bramlage Coliseum.
For Evans, who played from 1974-78 under Jack Hartman before a nine-year NBA career turned into a coaching stint and some work as an analyst, it was his first time back in Bramlage Coliseum since K-State's three seniors — Dean Wade, Barry Brown Jr., and Kamau Stokes — were sophomores.
In between then and now, the program has undergone a lot of growth, led by those three. The Wildcats went from being the last team in the NCAA Tournament in 2017 to an Elite Eight run last year. Now, seven games into Big 12 play, K-State sits in a tie for first with Kansas.
Evans, who sat down with K-State Sports Extra, has not been surprised by any of it.
SE: First off, welcome back. How long has it been?
ME: I came back for a basketball game not last year but the year before, when the team wasn't doing so well at that point. But I always knew that Coach (Weber), being the coach that I remember when I was scouting for Denver and he was at Illinois, I knew what Coach was capable of doing. It was just a matter of time, getting the guys to listen and success was right around the corner.
SE: What about your previous experience with Coach Weber made you believe that it was just a matter of time?
ME: Because I saw the guards that he had — Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head. He had some guys at Illinois that just played extremely hard. They were always doing things the right way. The success that I saw at Illinois, I knew that once he got his bearings here and got the players that he wanted in here, things would turn around.
SE: Back to you. What's it like for you each time you do come back? Does it still somewhat put you in awe, seeing how much this city has changed?
ME: I have no clue where I'm going sometimes. I don't recognize the city as much. But the student enthusiasm is still the same. They show up. As I used to say, they show up when the team shows out. That purple spirit just emanates, whether it's in the football stadium or the basketball arena.
SE: What about when you get around former teammates, other K-State alums, like you have been able to this weekend?
ME: Oh, Chuckie, Rolando, Darryl Winston, we have a connection that can never be broken. So, when we see each other – we haven't seen each other in years – but when we get together it's like we've been talking to each other every day. That's just a connection. It's what sports do. It brings us together in that way, it keeps us connected, even when we are not close to each other.
SE: Are there specific stories that are brought up when you get together?
ME: Sometimes things that you forget, that you've forgotten about. These guys keep you grounded (laughs). That's our job for each other.
SE: I'm always curious how people wind up here. You originally came from North Carolina. What's your recruiting story?
ME: I was doing scouting for the Denver Nuggets, and I was calling Dean Smith on behalf of one of his players, Jeff McInnis. Talking to Dean, I was trying to get some information because we were considering him for one of our picks, but Dean gave very little information about any of his players. So, he finally gave me some information that I could use, take back to my GM, and then I thanked him. I was getting ready to get off the phone, and he said, 'Hey, did I ever tell you the story about how you got to Kansas State?' I was, like, 'What? No, Coach. What are you talking about?' He said, 'Let me tell you the story.'
(Continued) He told me that it went back to when I was at Laurinburg Prep. He came up to me and offered me an opportunity to go to the University of North Carolina. I was really happy, ecstatic about the opportunity, but then he told me he couldn't give me a scholarship. It kind of cut the legs from under me. He said, 'It's not that I don't want to. I promised one of my point guards that I wouldn't recruit another player at that position.' He said, 'After you said you couldn't do that, (walk on), I went to a coaches meeting with Jack Hartman and Bill Guthridge,' who went to school here. Dean went to the University of Kansas. They were sitting and talking, he and Jack Hartman, and he asked Jack how his recruiting was going. Jack told him that he felt good about his frontcourt, but he had lost Lon Kruger and Danny Beard, and he wasn't too happy about his point guard situation. Dean Smith said, 'Well, you need to go and check out the kid, Evans, at Laurinburg.' Chuck Garrett, who was the assistant coach, great man, flew in and brought me out here. I fell in love with the place and signed, and that's how I got here.
SE: When you look back now, how do you reflect on that story and the impact this place had on your life?
ME: Everything happens for a reason. I think you're put in position to take advantage of opportunities that come to you. Dean Smith, in that moment, was there at the right time. It led to the opportunity for me to come to K-State and to meet the people that I've met here at K-State, to be under the tutelage of Jack Hartman, to be around the people today that were here before I got here and had an impact on Willie Murrell, Bob Boozer, Jack Parr, Jerry Johnson, there's so many guys that I had a chance to, for the first time, sit down in this environment, in the Legends (Weekend) and talk with. Just to spend that quality time, share stories and remembrances, it's special, and it was long overdue for me.
SE: You had a heck of an NBA career, as a player, coach and TV analyst. What are you up to now? Enjoying Retirement?
ME: I am enjoying retirement (in Colorado). I was coaching girls (basketball) at a competitive level, helping out one of my former players with his organization. I spent so much time at home that my wife went and got a job (laughs). It's been great. It's not retirement that I was wanting at the time. It was a forced retirement kind of thing. The league (NBA), as it is, it's getting younger, so you have to step aside and let the younger guys have their opportunity.
SE: Have you picked up any new hobbies?
ME: I love to fly-fish. I've been up to Montana and a lot of places in Wyoming. That's a hobby that I enjoy.
SE: When K-State's on national TV, are you usually in front of yours? (K-State will face Texas A&M in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in College Station, Texas, on ESPN on Saturday at 1 p.m.)
ME: I record every game. Whether I'm there at the time or not, I record the game and go back and watch. I love watching them play. I love what Coach has done. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.
SE: What have been your impressions of this year's team?
ME: They're resilient. When Wade came back, it made all the difference in the world. Brown's playing incredible right now. Guys are finding their roles, where they fit in and moving the ball better. They know who the guys are that need to take the shots. Their defense has been outstanding. I'm feeling good about it right now… feeling good about it.
Players Mentioned
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