R.J. Evans, who has been a program assistant on the UofL men’s basketball staff since May, has been elevated to Acting Assistant Coach for the Cardinals.
“R.J. is a very talented young coach with a great future,” said Interim Head Coach David Padgett. “He’s another member of our staff that has competed at a very high level. R.J. has accumulated significant experience at his multiple stops, all which will be a great benefit to our players. He has built a great rapport with our players and has earned their respect.”
Evans, who has earned two master’s degrees, joined the UofL staff after working two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas under head coach Shaka Smart. Prior to his time in Austin, Evans was an assistant coach at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. for one season (2014-15) as the Bison posted a 20-6 record and won the Commonwealth Coast Conference Regular Season Championship with a 17-1 mark.
Evans played basketball at the College of the Holy Cross, scoring over 1,200 career points in his three-plus seasons there. As a co-captain in his final season in 2011-12, Evans averaged 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while earning recognition on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. He received a medical redshirt after missing most of the 2010-11 season with a sports hernia.
Evans played his final year as a graduate student at the University of Connecticut, where he helped the Huskies post a 20-10 record in 2012-13. He appeared in 27 games (three starts) and averaged 3.1 points and grabbing 25 steals. He faced Louisville once that season, grabbing two rebounds in seven minutes against the Cardinals in a 73-58 UofL victory in Hartford.
Evans played for four different coaches in his four collegiate seasons in Kevin Ollie at UConn and Ralph Willard, Sean Kearney and Milan Brown at Holy Cross. He played one year professionally for the Durham Wildcats in the United Kingdom. His sister Kastine played basketball at Kentucky.
Evans, who hails from Salem, Conn., earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Holy Cross in 2012, a master’s degree in educational psychology from UConn in 2013, and a master’s in kinesiology from Texas in 2017.
In his acting position, Evans fills an assistant coaching role while UofL Associate Coach Kenny Johnson is on administrative leave.
http://www.gocards.com/news/2017/10/20/r-j-evans-named-acting-assistant-mens-basketball-coach.aspx
