Ryan Evans
Ryan Evans | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 19, 1990 United States |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Known for | Playing for Bakken Bears, Wisconsin Badgers |
Ryan Evans (born June 19, 1990) is a professional basketball athlete from the United States who most recently competed for the Bakken Bears in Denmark's premier league, the Basketligaen. Measuring and weighing , he predominantly occupies the small forward position. Evans played collegiate basketball representing the Wisconsin Badgers.
High school career
Evans began his high school education at Phoenix Desert Vista High School before transferring to Hamilton High School during his junior year. That season, he averaged 8.5 points along with 4.5 rebounds per game. In his senior year, he was honored with first team all-state recognition and propelled Hamilton to the state semifinals while posting averages of 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds each game.
College career
Evans committed to play for Wisconsin, redshirting his initial year (2008–09). During the 2009–10 season, he contributed an average of 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per contest, reaching double-digit scoring on four occasions.
In the following season (2010–11), Evans appeared in 33 games mainly off the bench, averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds. His impact grew substantially in 2011–12 as he posted 11.0 points and led the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. His NCAA tournament performance was notable, averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, aiding Wisconsin's advance to the Sweet 16 and earning him an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
As a senior in 2012–13, Evans ranked third in scoring at 10.1 points per game and topped the team in rebounding with an average of 7.3 per contest. He was selected for the Big Ten All-Tournament team after averaging 11.3 points and six rebounds during the event and was also named to the Big Ten All-Academic Team. Evans holds Wisconsin’s record for most career games played with a total of 138.
In 2013, he received recognition as an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
Professional career
Undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, Evans signed with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League, where he averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during his rookie campaign in the 2013–14 season. He recorded shooting percentages of 38.3% from the field and 27.5% from beyond the arc across 33 games. Evans participated in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ summer league roster in 2014 before joining Atomerőmű SE in Hungary for the 2014–15 season, where he averaged 13.5 points along with six rebounds per game.
In the 2018–19 season, Evans signed with Denmark’s Bakken Bears competing in the Basketligaen, where he earned the league’s Most Valuable Player award after leading his squad to a flawless four-game sweep over Horsens IC in the finals. During the following season (2019–20), he averaged 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game and subsequently re-signed with Bakken on May 22, 2020. In 2023, Evans was honored as Basketligaen Finals MVP as Bakken clinched another Danish championship title.
Honors
- Basketligaen championships: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
- Danish Cup titles: 2020, 2021, 2023
- Basketligaen MVP award: 2018–19
- Basketligaen Finals MVP: 2022–23