Ryan Evans did something unexpected last weekend in Albuquerque, N.M. He got off to a fast start.
Wisconsin's junior forward hit his first four shots to spark the Badgers to an early lead in a 73-49 win over Montana in their opening game of the NCAA tournament on Thursday at The Pit.
He followed that up by hitting his first four shots Saturday against Vanderbilt to reach double figures for the 14th straight game as Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 60-57 win.
"I wanted to come out and play aggressive and loose," Evans said.
That has always been Evans' plan, but he rarely got that chance early in his prep and college careers.
As a 15-year-old, he was cut by the Phoenix Desert Vista junior varsity team, forcing him to transfer to Chandler Hamilton, where he led the Huskies to the 5A Division I state semifinals his senior year. He made The Arizona Republic's All-5A first team that season and was named Fiesta Region Co-Player of the Year after averaging 18.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.
When he arrived at Wisconsin, the first college to offer him a scholarship, he redshirted his first year, then played sparingly the next two.
"We'd talk on the phone and he was frustrated," said friend, mentor and Harlem Globetrotter, Anthony Blakes. "But he'd always finish by saying: 'I'm going to play.'"
Evans is finally getting that chance, and there's one simple reason.
"When you go home and you reflect and look at games or practices, you realize that, as a coaching staff, he rewards what you give him," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "It feels good. It's like a teacher in the classroom. Kids do well on the test and the teacher goes home and that feels pretty good."
The 6-foot-7 Evans is averaging 11.1 points, a team-high 6.8 rebounds and nearly a block per game in 30.5 minutes for Wisconsin, which faces Syracuse – the East Region's top seed – Thursday at TD Garden.
Evans was raw when he arrived in Madison.
"I think I weighed 175 pounds," said Evans, who now weighs 210.
But Ryan saw something in his eyes – something in the way he talked about his college career and the diligence with which he pursued his academic career.
"When a guy gets better and does the things he's doing, it helps his teammates," Ryan said. "It teaches the younger guys that if you work hard, these kinds of things can happen.
"In our society, that's been lost a little bit, but he's not entitled. Everybody wasn't chasing him. He wasn't on everybody's list. He just plays and enjoys it."
Evans learned early that this was the path he must take. As soon as Desert Vista cut him, he enlisted Blakes' help and told his dad he wanted to join LA Fitness so he could play pickup games with Blakes and a host of older professional players.
"It would get pretty rough sometimes, and he got shoved around pretty good," Blakes said. "Nobody wanted the younger kid on their team, but I always made sure he was on my team so I could bring him along."
As Evans' confidence grew, so did his body. Blakes came home after one pro season and Evans appeared to have shot up four or five inches.
"It wasn't long before he was dunking on the guys at LA Fitness, hitting game-winning shots in their faces and earning respect," Blakes said.
Evans' hot start was instrumental in the Badgers' two wins in Albuquerque.
"Any time you have a guy start off like that, it definitely gets you going as a team," Wisconsin guard Jordan Taylor said. "Now they're thinking about him even more so than they were coming in, so it just opens things up."
But even as he enjoys success at Wisconsin, Evans never forgets the things that keep him on the court.
Midway through the first half against Vanderbilt, he dove on the floor along the end line to save a ball that was going out of bounds. He did, and Wisconsin got a basket on the other end.
He posted a huge block on Vanderbilt forward Jefferey Taylor with Wisconsin up 50-44 with 7:20 to play in the game. And when Vandy's John Jenkins missed an open look at a three-pointer that could have won the game with 2.1 seconds left, Evans grabbed the rebound and drilled a free throw to help secure the win.
"I just try to contribute any way I can get it done," Evans said. "But it's not just me. It's a culture here that has carried us to this point.
"It's a great feeling to get to the Sweet 16, but I feel like we've got a lot longer ways to go. So I'll work as hard as I can – until my knees fall off – and we'll see where it gets us."
