Early Years
Evans was born in Hobbs, New Mexico, the son of Gladys (née Spirlin), a home cleaner, and Oscar, a preacher and janitor. Robert was the fourth of seven children, all of whom would go on to graduate college.
Evans played high school basketball at Hobbs High School under legendary coach Ralph Tasker. His senior year he was named co-captain. That year the team made it to the 1964 championship game and Evans was invited to the state all-star game in Albuquerque.
Evans played junior college basketball at what is now Lubbock Christian University where he was named the school’s first All-American. Both seasons he played at Lubbock Christian Evans was voted the teams’ best defensive player. In his second year with the team Evans was named team captain. In 1966 Evans earned his Associate’s degree in Arts and Sciences. At Lubbock Christian Evans was teammates with Gerald Turner who would later become Chancellor of the University of Mississippi. Turner was instrumental in Evans’ hiring as head basketball coach in 1992.
Evans transferred to New Mexico State University for the 1966-67 season where he was coached by Lou Henson. He was named team captain and led the Aggies to a 15-11 record and a NCAA Tournament appearance. The next season Evans again captained the team to a 23-6 record and another NCAA Tournament appearance. In 1967 Evans was selected NMSU’s most outstanding athlete. In May 1968 Evans earned his bachelor’s degree in education.
Read more about this topic: Rob Evans
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or years:
““next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims” and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn’s early my
country ‘tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jing by gee by gosh by gum”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)
“Almost everybody in the neighborhood had “troubles,” frankly localized and specified; but only the chosen had “complications.” To have them was in itself a distinction, though it was also, in most cases, a death warrant. People struggled on for years with “troubles,” but they almost always succumbed to “complications.””
—Edith Wharton (1862–1937)