Sean Evans

Sean Evans Goes Pro, Signs In Germany

September 29, 2011 by Jaden Daly Leave a Comment

In the wake of St. John’s Round of 64 loss to Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament, the focus surrounding the ten-man senior class, guided to national relevance by head coach Steve Lavin, shifted to how many fourth-year Johnnies would move on to the professional level.

NCAA BASKETBALL: FEB 05 St. John's at UCLA — Sean Evans becomes the fifth St. John's graduate from the Class of 2011 to sign a professional contract to play overseas. (Photo: Icon/SMI Select)

After the starting backcourt of Paris Horne and Dwight Hardy were first to sign overseas, reigning Big East Sixth Man of the Year Justin Burrell and swingman Justin Brownlee were next to make the jump to professional basketball.

It only seemed fitting that the man to wear jersey No. 5 would be the fifth Red Storm graduate to sign a contract. And, after two weeks of tryouts, the dream has come true for Sean Evans.

Evans officially accepted a deal with the Dusseldorf Giants of Germany’s Pro A League this past Tuesday, indeed making him the fifth from the St. John’s Class of 2011 to play professional basketball this season.

The Pro A League is the German version of the NBDL, as it works to funnel players into the German Bundesliga, where Evans’ senior classmate Paris Horne currently plays with BG Gottingen.

“I am very excited to be playing professionally and opening this new chapter of my life,” said Evans in a press release. “I am excited and humbled at the same time. I want to thank all of my coaches at St. John’s, they taught me so much.”

Evans’ head coach offered a testimonial, as well, when approached for comment about the Philadelphia native’s life-changing decision.

“We are pleased that Sean has received this well-deserved opportunity to play professional basketball,” remarked Steve Lavin. “His improved play was a key to our late-season surge and push into the NCAA Tournament. We are confident that Sean will take the lessons learned last year and add true value to his new team.”

Evans, a bruising 6-8, 259-pound forward, established himself among the Red Storm’s most consistent performers as a junior in 2009-10, and his 11 career double-doubles included an 11-point, 12-rebound effort vs. Syracuse in the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament.

His knack for big-game play included averaging 13.8 ppg and 9.5 rpg while shooting 67.7 percent from the field and 76.5 percent at the free throw line in four games across his junior and senior BIG EAST Tournaments, and his 10-point, 5-of-5 field goal effort in St. John’s 93-78 victory over No. 3/3 Duke on Jan. 30, 2011 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden was one of the shining moments in what would come to be the Red Storm’s biggest win at the Garden in nearly a decade.

Scouting St. John’s: Are Dwight Hardy and Sean Evans ready for the NBA?

June 16, 2011 by Daniel Martin 1 Comment

In the lead-up to the NBA Draft, JohnnyJungle.com continues to look at the graduating St. John’s seniors and how they could fare at the professional level. Today, Dwight Hardy and Sean Evans.

Dwight Hardy

Hardy was the national face of the revitalized and reenergized program in 2010-2011. Beginning with his dominant performance against Georgetown to kick off Big East play, the ball kept rolling from there. The Bronx native ended up averaging just over 18 points per game and was named to the All-Big East First Team.

Now post-graduation, the next phase of his basketball career begins.

Hardy recently returned from Europe, where he worked out for teams in France. Also, Adam Zagoria of SNY is reporting that Hardy will be working out for the New Jersey Nets on Monday.

During his college career, Hardy was a pure scorer, both during his time at Indian Hills and at St. John’s. The key to his game, especially during his senior season with the Red Storm, was his ability to score in any number of ways. His dribble penetration was his biggest strength, getting to the rim, especially in the clutch.

Head coach Steve Lavin compared Hardy to Miami Heat guard Eddie House at the beginning of the season, and that is the role he could play in the NBA. Off the bench, he could be a 3pt shooting sparkplug that can put up points in a hurry. Questions still remain about his capacity to be a true, distributing point guard, which is why he may need a few seasons to develop his game overseas before making his way to the NBA.

Sean Evans

If there was one thing Sean Evans did relentlessly in his time with the Red Storm, it was offensive rebound.

Much like fellow St. John’s graduate Justin Burrell, Evans 6’8, 259 lb. frame is something NBA teams would covet.

He was inconsistent on the offensive end in his time at St. John’s, but had flashes of strong work in the post. He is also working to harness the physical gifts that he already has. This past season showed another part of Evans: his hard work.

Early in the year, he was seeing very little time on the floor, playing less than 5 minutes in six of the first eleven games. Lavin stressed that each practice was a chance for players to fight for time, and Evans did just that. Down the stretch, he was an integral part of the Red Storm rotation and chalked up a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Big East Tournament.

Recently, he has been working out independently on the West Coast, including workouts with fellow Philadelphia natives Marcus and Markieff Morris.

Projections show Evans, too, will not get drafted, but his size could be an asset to him as he looks for pro teams in perhaps Europe, or elsewhere. As he continues to work on finishing around the rim, he could be a contributing big man at the professional level.

Johnnies Set Sail to Take on Pirates

March 2, 2011 by Daniel Martin Leave a Comment

Even with all the attention surrounding the #15 St. John’s Red Storm, players say only a few small things have changed.

“I’m sitting in class, the girl I’ve been interested in for the whole semester kind of gives me a smile that on a different day when I walk in, probably wouldn’t have gotten one before,” forward Justin Burrell joked. “The lunch lady gave me a couple extra fries in the bottom of the bag. Stuff like that.”

That relaxed, “take-things-as-they-come” attitude continues to pervade the St. John’s locker room and keep them from being caught up in the glitz and glamour that comes with being the 15^th ranked team in the country.

After moving up 10 spots in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll this past week, the Johnnies are heavily favored in their two remaining regular season games, Thursday at Seton Hall and Saturday versus South Florida at Carnesecca Arena.

These two final regular season games force the Red Storm to switch gears. Coming off an important road win over #14 Villanova, the Red Storm must take care of business against two sub-.500 opponents to secure a double-bye in the Big East Tournament.

“These games are actually harder,” Burrell said. “If you see throughout college basketball when a team that…is supposed to win a game, if you see those games, it’s sometimes close because teams overlook or don’t come out with the same intensity.”

Thursday’s match-up with Seton Hall at the Prudential Center will be an interesting one for St. John’s because, though the Pirates have won just five Big East games (with four of those wins coming over DePaul, Rutgers, Providence, and USF), they traveled to the Carrier Dome in late January and beat Syracuse by 22 points.

“We’re a real mature team. In this league, anyone can beat anyone,” said senior forward Sean Evans. “We’re going to go in there, same focus as if we were playing the number one team in the conference or the last place team in the conference.”

Senior guard Jeremy Hazell, who missed 13 games for the Pirates this year with a broken bone in his left wrist, is a volume shooter who can put points up in a hurry. Now healthy, Hazell is averaging 18.5 points per game, including outbursts of 28 points in their big win at Syracuse, and another 28 early in the year in a win over Cornell.

Last year at Carnesecca Arena, Hazell dropped 10 points on 4/6 shooting in the first 12 minutes before leaving the game with a deep cut in his right hand. Despite Hazell’s absence, Seton Hall won 59-50 behind 16 points from forward Jeff Robinson.

Along with Hazell, junior forward Herb Pope can play impact basketball on the inside, averaging almost a double-double, with 10 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Guarding Pope, who also happens to be a friend of Justin Burrell’s off the court, will be the duty of St. John’s Big 3 forwards: Brownlee, Burrell, and the reemerging Sean Evans.

“To this point, there hasn’t been any indication of a letdown,” said Coach Steve Lavin. “I think, in a lot of our losses, it was more confidence, or not understanding how to salt a victory away, or not counter-punching when a team made a run on us and the inability to come back late in a game.”

“Every game we come out, we’re going to try to win and our goal is to win a national championship, as is any other college team in the country.” -Sean Evans

It seems the Johnnies have struck a balance between a short term vision and clear recognition of long term goals. Lavin has called every game “the most important game of the year”, but the team is still cognizant of their national rank and NCAA Tournament prospects.

“We’ve worked hard to put ourselves in this position and we don’t ever want to forget the brick and mortar, the fundamentals, and the degrees of focus that it took to get to this point,” said Lavin.

And as the Red Storm rolls into Newark Thursday night, they will be bringing the brick and mortar, hoping to build their way to a national title run.

“We don’t play just to play, we play to win,” said Evans. “Every game we come out, we’re going to try to win and our goal is to win a national championship, as is any other college team in the country.”

Great Alaska Blowout

November 27, 2010 by Jaden Daly 1 Comment

After coming back from a second-half deficit to topple Ball State in overtime yesterday morning, St. John’s needed to stay focused against Drake tonight.

Boy, did they ever.

Three Johnnies ended the night in double figures and four more chipped in with eight points each as the Red Storm (3-1) rolled over Drake by the final of 82-39. The win was the first victory of 40 or more points for St. John’s since November 23, 1999; when Mike Jarvis guided the boys from Queens to an 84-43 thrashing of Stony Brook. Tonight gave Steve Lavin many reasons to smile, as not only did his team spread the love offensively; they also shot 58% (30-for-52) from the field.

Justin Brownlee led the Red Storm with 13 points while Dwight Hardy scored all of his 11 in the first half, where the Johnnies came out of the opening stanza and into the locker room with a 45-17 advantage. Sean Evans was the other St. John’s player to manage a double-figure outing, tallying 10. Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Hawley led Drake with 10 points each.

There were several keys to victory going in for the Johnnies, namely guard play and playing with confidence overall. Not only did the Red Storm backcourt contribute, but there was never a point over forty minutes where a lack of confidence could be found. In addition to Hardy’s 11 points, Paris Horne and Malik Boothe tallied eight each. Boothe also facilitated some scoring opportunities with six assists. Although quiet in the box score with just a half-dozen points, D.J. Kennedy added eight rebounds to help the Johnnies win the battle of the boards 38-24. St. John’s also exhibited better ball control by committing just 12 turnovers.

St. John’s now plays for the Great Alaska Shootout championship tonight (tomorrow morning on the East Coast) against Arizona State, with a midnight Eastern time tipoff.

One Bat, One Team, One Goal

October 28, 2010 by Daniel Martin 2 Comments

Much has been written and said about the nine seniors on this 2010-2011 St. John’s roster. Coming up on their final season together, the last and telling test lies ahead, one that will dictate what history says became of this highly-touted Class of 2007.

Being that the majority of these players have been together for three years, working in the same system, going through the same ups and downs as a single, solidified unit, team chemistry is not a problem. “We’ve all been fighting to [make it to the NCAA Tournament] since Day 1,” said senior guard Paris Horne.

The team's brightest moment last season beating UConn at Madison Square Garden at the Big East Tournament. Can they use last season as a stepping stone? (Icon SMI)

Now, with a new energy, in part rooted in the hiring and recruiting success of Steve Lavin, this collection of veterans is poised for a run. With the same mix of attractive charisma and authoritative coaching knowledge that has paid off on the recruiting trail, Lavin seems to have this entire team on the same page and in pursuit of a top seed in the Big East this season. “They’re giving us more responsibility and teaching us how to be men and win,” said senior swingman DJ Kennedy of Coach Lavin and the rest of his staff.

But, with as much business as there has been to get ready for this season, that is not the only thing that has brought them together.

St. John’s fans got their first taste of this newly re-energized and charismatic team at Red Storm Tip-off when senior forward Justin Burrell emerged from the tunnel for his introduction, pointing to the sky and bobbing his head to “What is Love?”, a techno song made famous in the 1998 comedy Night at the Roxbury, much to the delight of his laughing teammates waiting at half court.

With a smile, recalling Burrell’s flawless performance at Tip-off, Paris Horne explained, “We’ve always joked around; I think it’s just that people never got to see it. We have fun but, at the same time, we focus and work hard.”

That “focus” has been at the center of a message from the assistant coaching staff, that of which includes Mike Dunlap and Rico Hines, both of whom have coaching experience in the NBA, along with Tony Chiles, a respected assistant at the Division I level with Drexel and Iona. It is a “focus” on team unity finally translating the personal chemistry they have off the court to positive results in games.

The first symbol of unity that has emerged for this team is what has come to be known as “Coach Dunlap’s Bat”. (#coachdunlapsbat)

The team lost the bat for a minute, we won't point fingers, but Sean @Shizzy5 Evans found it. #coachdunlapsbat (Twitter)

Though little more than a red aluminum bat with some peeling batting tape around the handle, what it symbolizes for this team is much more.

Each player has signed the bat with a marker, officially entering themselves into what DJ Kennedy has called “a brotherhood”. “We all signed it, which means we agree to work as a unit and we all have one goal.”

This bat, as simple as it may seem, embodies something much more profound and is one of the basic building blocks for a new culture of St. John’s basketball. In games last season against top-tier teams like Villanova and West Virginia, where St. John’s held a sizable first half advantage, it appeared to be a lack of cohesiveness that lead to compounded mistakes and second half breakdowns.

What Coach Dunlap’s Bat metaphorically strives to do is to bring all of these players together so they fit into one system and one scheme and stop the late-game runs that sank the team so many times last season.

As jokingly as it has been discussed, it is no laughing matter. Every three days, a new player must carry the bat everywhere they go and return it at the end of that period. And what happens if Dunlap’s Bat goes missing? As senior point guard Malik Boothe plainly put it, “You don’t wanna know.”

This culture shift for the Red Storm is not only in how they play, but how they present themselves as well. Just as Coach Lavin is always clean shaven and well-kept, he expects the same from his players. This means no more facial hair, turning back the clock for some players, back to their baby-faced high school days.

So with all this newly-found need to shave, what kind of products do the 2010-2011 Johnnies prefer? With a smile on his face, Malik Boothe answers quickly, “I never put a razor to this face. That’s my barbers job.” Boothe, who says he has gone to the same barber since 7th grade, instills the same trust in him as his teammates do when he runs the floor on gameday.

So, with a new focus, a new coach, and freshly-shaven faces, these nine seniors will take the floor on November 16th on the big stage, on ESPN against nationally-ranked St. Mary’s.

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