Rob Evans Biography

Rob Evans is a patient man. Witness his 24 years as an assistant coach at New Mexico State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. He began his coaching career at New Mexico State, his alma mater where he was an assistant coach serving under former Illinois and current New Mexico State coach Lou Henson. As an assistant to Henson Evans helped the NMSU Aggies record three 20-plus win seasons, four NCAA Tournament appearances including a trip to the "Final Four and went 135-54 during his time at NMSU.

Evans moved on to Texas Tech where he was an assistant to Gerald Myers for 15 seasons. During Evans time at Tech the Red Raiders posted 11 winning seasons, 242 victories and reached the NCAA Tournament three times. In response to why he was at Tech for so long, Evans characteristically said; "I was at Texas Tech for 15 years because I wanted to be there. If I had been in a higher-profile situation I might have moved quicker, but my family was important to me. My kids were doing well in school and my wife was completing her degree. I'm a pretty patient person and you have to be if you are an assistant for 24 years. But I never blamed anybody for being an assistant that long. It has become a positive as a head coach. I've seen a lot of things over the years, things to do and things not to do."

Evans moved on to Oklahoma State where he stayed for 2 years as an assistant to Eddie Sutton, current OSU coach. Sutton, in a benign way, predicted success for Evans when he said; "Rob brings a lot to the table. He is a tireless worker, an outstanding recruiter and a very good coach. He has had a wonderful relationship with his players, and he is a quality person."

Evans helped coach OSU to a 28-8 record as the Cowboys were ranked as high as Number 2 in the national polls before being eliminated by national runner-up Michigan in the NCAA "Sweet 16". OSU and Evans also went to the "Big Dance" following the 1990-91' season and made it to the "Sweet Sixteen." Evans, who had a significant recruiting role at OSU, was an integral part of why the Cowboy's recruiting classes of 1991 and 1992 were both ranked in the top 15. Many players on the Cowboy's 1995 "Final Four" team were recruited by Evans.

Rob Evans was hired by the University of Mississippi in March, 1992. He immediately set a course for Ole Miss basketball in his first season (1992-93) when he coached the Rebels to a win over LSU, who would go to the NCAA post season tournament and an unbelievable win in the first-round of the SEC Tournament, upsetting Florida 67-62. Perhaps, the icing on the cake in Evans first season at Ole Miss was a two game conference sweep of arch-rival Mississippi State. Evans coached the Rebels to a 42-16 record in his final two seasons (1996-98) and earned consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, for the first time in school history.

Evans was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1997 and led the program to consecutive SEC West regular season titles. The Rebels posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since 1937-38. College Hoops Insider named him National Coach of the Year in 1997.

The 1997-98 Rebels went 22-7 overall and 13-5 in conference defeating national champion and then seventh-ranked Kentucky on the road, their first win at Lexington since 1927. Ole Miss won the conference title winning its final seven games to finish 12-4. Ole Miss went 14-0 at home and sold out every SEC game, causing a previously unknown interest in the program.

Evans had been advised not to take the Ole Miss job. Eddie Sutton warned Evans;"I told him I thought you could take Adolph Rupp, John Wooden, Henry Iba and Phog Allen and they probably couldn't get that done."

According to Slim Smith media sports personality at the time Evans arrived at Ole Miss; "When he arrived in Oxford in 1992 he found: A team that lingered consistently at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference, a program that drew so poorly that often the traveling party of fans from schools like Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi State consistently outdrew the home team, a school whose affinity for the Confederate Battle Flag made it virtually impossible to attract top recruits.

"The Ole Miss basketball program was viewed as a graveyard for coaches, a program that had no chance for success, even modest success." continued Smith. Evans inherited a basketball program at Ole Miss which had been descibed as hopeless due to a variety of on and off the court distractions.

Stories from the SEC had it that Ole Miss was so disinterested in basketball they announced the head basketball coach had received a "promotion" to assistant football coach.

Into this seething cauldron of basketball obscurity and certain career death strode our intrepid hero one Rob Evans who said; "I've never shied away from a challenge, that is why I went to Ole Miss." In his six seasons at Ole Miss Evans coached the Rebels to 86 wins, a 20-9 season, schools first winning season since 1986-87', won an SEC Title, first since 1927 and he was named SEC Coach of the Year (1997). Evans said when he left; "we started with 1,200 fans, now you can't get a ticket in Oxford."

As former Arizona State and current Notre Dame Athletic Director Dr. Kevin White stated when he introduced Evans in April 1998: "Rob Evans is the new men's basketball coach at Arizona State, his reputation and the program he built at Mississippi are among the best in college basketball." Dr. White continued, "Rob Evans did not rebuild the Ole Miss program he BUILT the program. The program has only been to three NCAA tournaments in its lifetime," White said. "What you perhaps don't know is that two have come in the last two years, and both under coach Evans. Rob Evans led Ole Miss to back-to-back 20-win seasons, the first time that had occurred at Ole Miss since 1937-38. Ole Miss went 13-0 this year at home, they sold out every SEC game, and that's the first time that's happened."

Evans is prepared to lead Arizona State to become a Pac-10 and national force in collegiate basketball. To conduct business on and off the court in a professional manner which will provide the University and the young man with an excellent reputation. As Evans has often said his kids "are going to be someone the school can be proud of and point to as outstanding young men."

"I love this community and I can appreciate what ASU and the area have to offer. We have a tremendous base to build on with the Valley. This is a program that should aspire to be among the best in the Pacific-10 Conference and the nation. We want to continue recruiting the top student-athletes to our campus and producing a team and a program that Arizona State fans and alumni are proud of. You have to have continuity. What happens is the older guys tell the young guys how to do it. Players become an extension of the staff."Without question Evans has set his goals for ASU basketball high.

"I want to win the national championship. I believe that there are certain places that have that opportunity, and I believe ASU is one of them. At Ole Miss, the media asked where I saw the program going, and I told them I wanted to win conference championships. No one believed we could, but we did. We know we have to follow our plan. But the key ingredients are here and the ones that weren't here are being established, like our new locker room. Five years ago that wouldn't have happened. It has happened because people believe in the program."

As Evans says about his on-court standards "I will admit it is difficult to meet my standards defensively. It's typical for a coaching staff in its first few years to struggle, because you try to change habits and we also have not had a deep bench. As we built the program and more players get experience, they have started to meet our standards. This is not my first rodeo," Evans says, "I've been here. I know the road it takes to get there and we will get there. We don?t have any distractions in our program."

Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star wrote that "the definition of the way Sun Devil basketball will be played under Evans. . . Defense. Hustle. Passing. Character."

"I tell the players that if you want people to come see you play, you have to carry yourself a certain way. I feel like I have a responsibility to these guys that they not only become good players, but good citizens."

Does Evans believe in education? You better believe he does. He was one of seven children in a family where his parents worked very hard just to make ends meet. His dad was a janitor and his mother washed and ironed other peoples clothes. His parents had no better than an eighth grade education but insisted their children would complete high school and graduate from college.

As Evans has said; "That is why it is important that our student-athletes come out of here with a degree. If they don't, they have wasted my time and their time and I haven't done right by them. A lot of people talk about it, but you have to really want it and take pride in education."

Evans graduated from New Mexico State with a bachelor's degree in English.

Evans and his wife, the former Carolyn Marshall, were married in July, 1970. The couple has two children, a son, Damon and a daughter, Amber.

Some of his accomplishments are:

• Consecutive SEC West regular season titles
• Consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since 1937-38
• Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the Rebels first time in school history
• Defeated Kentucky at Lexington the Rebel's first win there since 1927
• College Hoops Insider named him its National Coach of the Year in 1997
• Named SEC Coach of the Year in 1997
• Helped coach Oklahoma State to a 28-8 record 1991-92'
• Helped coach OSU to a trip to the "Big Dance" both seasons he was there
• Went to the NCAA "Sweet 16" both seasons he was with the Cowboys
• Significant responsibility for Cowboy's recruiting classes of 1991 & 1992' both ranked in top 15
• Many players on the Cowboy's 1995 "Final Four" team were recruited by him
• Helped Texas Tech Red Raiders post 11 winning seasons
• Helped coach Red Raiders to 242 victories and go to the NCAA Tournament three times
• Helped the NMSU Aggies record three 20-plus win seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances
• Helped coach the NMSU Aggies to a trip to the "Final Four
• The NMSU team went 135-54 during his tenure