Long known rumors of TCU’s interest in Rob Evans finally came true.
The former Arkansas Raz-orbacks assistant basketball coach and head coach of Ole Miss and Arizona State, Tuesday was named to Jim Christian’s TCU Horned Frogs staff as an assistant coach.
That means all of former Arkansas coach John Pel-phrey’s staff found jobs elsewhere since Pelphrey was fired a few days after the Razorbacks ended their 2010-2011 season.
Pelphrey was hired by Florida coach Billy Donovan as an assistant after having previously assisted Donovan at Marshall and Florida before becoming head coach for five years at South Alabama and the last four years at Arkansas.
Tom Ostrom, an assistant coach to Pelphrey at South Alabama and all four years at Arkansas, was hired as an assistant by the University of Dayton.
Brett Nelson, was hired as anassistant at Drake University.
Good for all that they bounced back from their Arkansas setback.
Great for college basketball that Evans, underutilized by the Pelphrey regime it seemed, at least during games, continues coaching.
At 64, he was the most likely to retire. But Evans has plenty more to give back to the game he has bettered since becoming the first All-American for Lubbock Christian back in 1966, then transferring to New Mexico State and captaining the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament teams in 1967 and ‘68.
Just too bad Evans doesn’t continue at Arkansas, though it’s understandable. Much as Arkansas coach Mike Anderson respects Evans, whom he has known nearly all his basketball life, he had no room at the inn. Anderson brought to Arkansas his entire staff, including veteran former head coach Melvin Watkins, that has meshed so well under him the last five years at Missouri.
Understandable that Evans would not continue at Arkansas, but incomprehensible that somebody wouldn’t hire such a classy, knowledgeable, respected coach which TCU did.
As a young assistant, Evans coached and learned from the best, Lou Henson at New Mexico State, Gerald Myers at Texas Tech and Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State before his 1993-2006 head coaching run at Ole Miss and Arizona State.
Evans’ Ole Miss tenure ranks among the SEC’s best-ever coaching jobs at a perpetual underdog.
His 1997 and 1998 Rebels won the SEC West and dislodged Richardson’s Razorbacks from their West dominance.
They did so with a lot of Arkansas born players like Keith Carter of Perryville, Anthony Boone of West Helena among others playing rough, tough defense.
Not many out-toughed Rich-ardson’s teams, but Evans’ last Rebels outfits did.
They even beat one vintage Richardson team, the 1995 national runner-up Razorbacks on Jan. 4 in Oxford. Beaten, 78-71, Hogs were out of gas in Oxford, regrouping from the long trip back from Hawaii, where they beat Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Iowa in the Rainbow Classic.
But hey, you play the schedule as it falls, and the Rebels did and played better and earned it.
Writing courtside after the game, it was the most euphoric and longest non-Fayetteville SEC postgame these eyes witnessed.
Evans and the team littered with Arkansas natives, were repeatedly curtain-call demanded for victory laps after beating the defending national champs.
They did so smiling as wide as the court itself.
Perhaps Evans won’t experience that as a head coach again, but it’s great he’ll continue assisting somebody else at the chance to share the opportunities he has enjoyed.
The former Arkansas Raz-orbacks assistant basketball coach and head coach of Ole Miss and Arizona State, Tuesday was named to Jim Christian’s TCU Horned Frogs staff as an assistant coach.
That means all of former Arkansas coach John Pel-phrey’s staff found jobs elsewhere since Pelphrey was fired a few days after the Razorbacks ended their 2010-2011 season.
Pelphrey was hired by Florida coach Billy Donovan as an assistant after having previously assisted Donovan at Marshall and Florida before becoming head coach for five years at South Alabama and the last four years at Arkansas.
Tom Ostrom, an assistant coach to Pelphrey at South Alabama and all four years at Arkansas, was hired as an assistant by the University of Dayton.
Brett Nelson, was hired as anassistant at Drake University.
Good for all that they bounced back from their Arkansas setback.
Great for college basketball that Evans, underutilized by the Pelphrey regime it seemed, at least during games, continues coaching.
At 64, he was the most likely to retire. But Evans has plenty more to give back to the game he has bettered since becoming the first All-American for Lubbock Christian back in 1966, then transferring to New Mexico State and captaining the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament teams in 1967 and ‘68.
Just too bad Evans doesn’t continue at Arkansas, though it’s understandable. Much as Arkansas coach Mike Anderson respects Evans, whom he has known nearly all his basketball life, he had no room at the inn. Anderson brought to Arkansas his entire staff, including veteran former head coach Melvin Watkins, that has meshed so well under him the last five years at Missouri.
Understandable that Evans would not continue at Arkansas, but incomprehensible that somebody wouldn’t hire such a classy, knowledgeable, respected coach which TCU did.
As a young assistant, Evans coached and learned from the best, Lou Henson at New Mexico State, Gerald Myers at Texas Tech and Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State before his 1993-2006 head coaching run at Ole Miss and Arizona State.
Evans’ Ole Miss tenure ranks among the SEC’s best-ever coaching jobs at a perpetual underdog.
His 1997 and 1998 Rebels won the SEC West and dislodged Richardson’s Razorbacks from their West dominance.
They did so with a lot of Arkansas born players like Keith Carter of Perryville, Anthony Boone of West Helena among others playing rough, tough defense.
Not many out-toughed Rich-ardson’s teams, but Evans’ last Rebels outfits did.
They even beat one vintage Richardson team, the 1995 national runner-up Razorbacks on Jan. 4 in Oxford. Beaten, 78-71, Hogs were out of gas in Oxford, regrouping from the long trip back from Hawaii, where they beat Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Iowa in the Rainbow Classic.
But hey, you play the schedule as it falls, and the Rebels did and played better and earned it.
Writing courtside after the game, it was the most euphoric and longest non-Fayetteville SEC postgame these eyes witnessed.
Evans and the team littered with Arkansas natives, were repeatedly curtain-call demanded for victory laps after beating the defending national champs.
They did so smiling as wide as the court itself.
Perhaps Evans won’t experience that as a head coach again, but it’s great he’ll continue assisting somebody else at the chance to share the opportunities he has enjoyed.
