By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Coming from a mid-major program to North Carolina’s point guard comes with plenty of challenges. Following so many greats can be daunting.
The switch from Colorado State to floor leader for a blue-blood program hasn’t come that easily for Evans, who has also been challenged for playing time in recent weeks by freshman Derek Dixon’s outstanding play.
Evans’ solution in the last two games was easy. Literally.
As turnovers have piled up in some games, UNC coach Hubert Davis has preached that he doesn’t need highlight-reel passes and prefers his players to make easy ones.
In the last two games, Evans has practiced what Davis has been preaching.
The results? No turnovers and 11 assists, including six assists in Tuesday night’s 77–58 victory at the Smith Center over East Tennessee State.
“We don’t need home runs. We just need singles, and Kyan hit singles,” said Davis, whose team racked up double-digit turnovers in seven of the first eight games but has kept that total to single digits in four of the last five.
Evans delivered his best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season on Tuesday by heeding the message that Davis repeatedly delivered. His best ratio last season was eight assists and no turnovers on Feb. 28 for Colorado State against Air Force.
“He’s our best passer in transition, in terms of pitching a ball ahead,” Davis said. “Coming off ball screens, he’s really good at finding our bigs rolling to the basket. In the first half, East Tennessee State was converging on those roles, and what was wide open was our shooters on the weak side, and Kyan was able to find that. So, he’s done a really nice job of distributing a basketball, but most importantly, taking care of it.”
Evans may not have the pure point guard skills of a Kendall Marshall, but he’s shown in the last week that he can be effective with efficiency instead of flash.
That excellent floor game for Evans came against a Buccaneers team that ranks 38th in the country in turnovers forced per game (15.36), and he was a big reason the No. 12 Tar Heels had only seven turnovers Tuesday.
“Coach emphasizes just making the easy play a lot in practice,” Evans said. “And I try to take that to the game, and then my teammates make shots for me. And it kind of creates this that way, just the easy way.”
Evans said his approach hasn’t changed — the game has simply slowed down for him.
“I think the game just kind of worked out that way for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t say the approach is any different.”
Evans’ three games with no turnovers, all in the last four games, are half of his total of six in 36 games last season for the Rams.
Caleb Wilson reminded everybody that the team was all new to each other and that it’s no surprise that there is an adjustment period.
“It’s not like a team where we just been here for three or four years,” Wilson said. “So, I feel like he’s just settling in and getting comfortable with the players and building that chemistry.”
Henri Veesaar, who scored a career-high 26 points, said Evans’ ability to push the pace and make simple reads was critical.
“The way he pushed the ball and kind of moved ahead, he seems a lot more relaxed and calmed down coming off the ball screens, kind of making the reads, seeing where’s the open man, and just making it easy, simple passes,” Veesaar said.
His steady hand helped UNC overcome another sluggish start. The Tar Heels were tied at 21 late in the first half before a burst of energy flipped the game. Evans said the turning point came before halftime.
“I think it flipped [with] three minutes left in the first half,” he said. “We kind of got some stuff going. And the locker room talk was just carrying that over into the second half. And we did a good job of that.”
Playing faster was part of the shift.
“I think we always want to play fast,” Evans said. “Some teams can take us out of transition or try to, so just every game is a little different.”
Veesaar praised Evans’ ability to shift the tempo.
“That’s what Kyan is really good at, just pushing the pace for the whole team,” Veesaar said. “As a point guard, he’s kind of the head of the team and when he runs and the other big didn’t get the rebound, they pass the ball out, they run, push the tempo, flatten out the defense. We already get a little advantage and then start moving the ball.”
Evans knows his role isn’t about flash — it’s about efficiency.
“Just going to get it, just having some heart to go get it,” he said of rebounding and effort plays. And when it comes to passing, he’s sticking to Davis’ mantra: routine plays, routinely.”
If Evans could make such games routine, he’ll pass the Tar Heels closer to their ceiling.
Photos by Joshua Lawton
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