Hoosier great still on court

Great players have come and gone in the history of IU basketball. Some are remembered and some are not. Brian Evans, who started at IU from 1993-1996, is one who will likely be remembered for a long time. \nThe forward's accomplishments at IU put him in close contention for IU's All-Century Team, and his talent has continued after his time on McCracken Court in Assembly Hall.\nEvans was IU's leading scorer in 1996, also leading the team in rebounding and field goal percentage. He ranks 10th in school history with 1,701 career points and was named First Team All-Big Ten, the conference's Most Valuable Player and IU's Most Valuable Player of the year, in 1996, his senior season.\nEvans said he developed many close relationships while playing at IU and keeps in touch with several old teammates, including Todd Leary, Charlie Miller and Matt Nover.\nHe said he has many great memories from his time with one of the nation's storied basketball programs.\n"I'll never forget sophomore year when Kentucky was ranked No. 1 and we beat them at the Hoosier Dome," Evans said. \nEvans said he'll always remember his first year in Blooming-ton, when he was red-shirted while the Hoosiers made a run to the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis.\nAfter receiving a degree in recrea-tion/sports management, Evans went on to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing professional basketball. \nFrom 1996-1998, Evans played for the NBA's Orlando Magic, and was with the New Jersey Nets for the 1998-1999 season. After the 1999 season, Evans moved across the Atlantic -- to Siena, Italy -- to play for the Monte Paschi Siena basketball team. He's still playing basketball in Italy, where the game is different from the style he grew up with in America.\n"Professional basketball is a totally different style in Europe," Evans said. "I came over here to Europe expecting to dominate, and the guys are smaller, but they played much better than I thought they would. The game in Europe is much more fundamentally sound than it is in the U.S. The guys aren't only skilled in shooting, but dribbling and passing as well."\nEvans said the game in Europe has come a long way and continues to improve.\nAlthough busy, Evans said he finds time to come back to Bloomington to practice with current players. Some of the players said Evans has helped them both mentally and physically for the strains of playing college basketball.\nSophomore guard Kyle Hornsby said Evans taught him not to attack when on the court.\n"It was neat to see the way he plays. Evans is such a good player because he never hesitates on anything," Hornsby said. "Brian has wonderful leadership qualities that we could all learn from. More than anything, he has great vocal leadership."\nJunior forward Jarrad Odle said he hangs out with Evans both on and off the court.\n"Brian is a guy that really understands the game," Odle said. "He's a great guy that prepared us all for transitioning from high school basketball to college basketball. It was also nice how he could relate to those of us from small towns in Indiana, coming to play at a big university."\nOdle said when he chose to come to IU, Evans helped prepare him for former coach Bob Knight's style and system.\nEvans said although Knight is no longer at IU, he considers himself lucky to have been able to play for him.\n"I am a strong supporter of Coach Knight," Evans said. "He made my experience with IU basketball what it was. It was always a dream of mine to play for Coach Knight, even more than a dream it was to play at IU."\nIn addition to his basketball career, Evans is making wedding plans with his fiancee, Erin Heimann, a former IU athlete who played on the volleyball team from 1996-1999. \nThe two met through mutual friends at IU, have been dating for eight months and plan to get married in June.\n"I didn't attend IU while Brian played basketball; I was still in high school," Heimann said. "Brian's mom gave me some tapes of old games from when he played for IU; it's been fun to look back and watch when he used to play as a Hoosier."\nAs for the future, Evans said he hopes to come back to the United States and play in the NBA again.\n"Right now, playing in Italy is the best thing for me," Evans said. "Playing in the NBA, I would play only about 12 minutes a game. Over here I'm playing 35-40 minutes a game. I'm still improving and when I feel I'm ready to play in the U.S. again, I'm going to give the NBA another shot"