As Derrick Rose was ascending to NBA greatness, 25 minutes away, a younger lady in Gary was watching and modeling her sport after his. She admired his velocity and explosiveness, the way in which he would drive to the basket. She even would select the identical jersey quantity as Rose — No. 1 — and later in her profession would select No. 11 to be near her inspiration.
More than a decade later, that younger lady from Gary made her WNBA debut.
“I loved everything he did,” Chicago Sky guard Dana Evans informed the Tribune. ”I clearly can shoot the three effectively, however I like attending to the basket. I simply suppose he was thrilling due to how fast he was.
“He was a shorter player … he was kind of midsize. He just had this edge about him. He had this chip on his shoulder every time he played. He just knew what he wanted to do. And he was so determined and focused. I just loved him.”
By fourth grade, Evans was concerned in ballet and nationally ranked within the 400 meters in indoor observe however by no means had performed basketball. She noticed an indication exterior her elementary college’s health club about women basketball tryouts and determined to present it a shot. Her dad, Damon Evans, thought it was a joke.
“I thought she was going to try out for cheerleading,” he stated with fun. “And it just came so natural to her. She would follow her older brothers to the gym. She just took to it.”
Dana remembers the second vividly.
“I didn’t have any basketball pants or shorts,” she stated. “I didn’t have any elite socks or nothing. But I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to just go for it.’ And I told my dad and he was laughing because he’s like, ‘You never practiced,’ and I literally made the team.”
She fell in love with basketball and excelled instantly. Damon and Dana imagine her time spent as a ballerina and runner made her a greater athlete.
Damon used to take his daughter to Sky video games. She was thinking about basketball and fairly good, and he needed to encourage her to maintain at it. Not solely was basketball a technique to bond along with his daughter, however he believed it was her future and he would inform her how a lot he needed her to play for the Sky when she grew up so he may come to each residence sport.
“She went to her first Chicago Sky game in either fifth or sixth grade,” he stated. “And I remember they were playing the Sparks and Candace (Parker) didn’t play that game. I don’t remember what was going on, but … (Dana’s) eyes just lit up. And I knew this was the dream for her. Once we went to one game, we kept going back, and it’s just been a thrill to see her reach her goal.”
Throughout her profession, Evans has relied on the recommendation and counsel of her dad.
“I’m a daddy’s girl,” she stated. “My dad really knew my life before it really happened. Honestly, like, he already knew what was going to take place. He knew how I was going to be in college. When he tells me stuff, I always believe it because they always end up coming true. It’s like, OK, well, he already seen that come.”
At 5-foot-6, Evans would go on to turn out to be top-of-the-line basketball gamers in Gary. She was the primary lady from the metal city to be chosen for the McDonald’s All-American Game.
When Evans was contemplating her faculty choices, her dad informed her Louisville was the very best match for each the place she was and the participant she would turn out to be. She made the ACC All-Freshman group in 2018. Then she went from the ACC Sixth Player of the Year in 2019 to the ACC Player of the Year in her junior and senior seasons. In her senior yr, Evans averaged 20.1 factors and three.9 assists and shot 43% from the sphere and 35.3% on 3s.
Then it was time for Evans to leap to the following stage.
A Chicago sports activities fan his total life, Damon needed his daughter to play in Chicago.
“I’ve always been a Chicago fan, whether it was the Bulls, the Bears or the White Sox,” he stated. “I mean, we live in Indiana but we’re so close to Chicago. We get all the Chicago stations. So for her to go to Chicago was just a dream come true. Before the draft, we talked about different scenarios and things of that nature, and I told her from day one, Chicago was where I wanted her to go.”
The Dallas Wings chosen Evans with the No. 13 decide within the 2021 WNBA draft. The Wings, who had depth at level guard, traded Evans to the Sky in June — simply six video games into her rookie season. Damon Evans was proper as soon as once more: Dana would be part of her idol, Parker, and the Sky in Chicago.
For Damon, it was top-of-the-line moments of his life. For Dana, it was one other dream realized.
“I remember watching Courtney Vandersloot and Sylvia Fowles,” she stated. “Now I’m playing with them and playing against them. It is pretty cool.”
Evans affectionately refers to Parker as “Mama Candace” as a result of she stated the 15-year veteran provides nice life recommendation.
In her first season with the Sky, Evans performed 23 video games and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie group after main rookies with an 88.5% free-throw share and ending second in 3-point share.
In reality, her 3-point taking pictures was a spotlight of the Sky’s championship season. Evans performed quarter-hour in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals towards the Phoenix Mercury with the Sky up large. She hit three 3-pointers in a row after not feeling like she had her shot.
When requested if she has revisited the second, she stated: “I really had it on repeat for a while. I was just like, ‘Be you. Why not?’ That was my mindset. So when I shot the first one, I’m like, ‘OK, finally.’ Then I hit the second one. I’m like, ‘OK, you’ve got to shoot it again.’ I just knew I was going to make that one though. I knew that one was good.”
The Sky received by 36 factors to take a 2-1 sequence lead. They received Game 4 for the primary championship in franchise historical past.
Her father wasn’t shocked.
“She’s a workaholic. She is a perfectionist,” he stated. “She is not going to cease till she reaches that greatness stage.
“I watched her growth as a woman, as a basketball player and as a person. She’s so inspirational to young women and young men in Gary because you don’t get a lot of feel-good stories out here. So for her to be somebody that they can look to and say, ‘Wow, this is somebody that made it.’ She had a lot of things stacked against her, and for her to make it, it’s a dream come true.”
He stated his co-workers on the metal mill the place he works 12-hour shifts change shifts with him so he can get to his daughter’s video games as a lot as potential.
In May, Jordan Brand introduced that Evans had turn out to be “the first NBA or WNBA player that has won a championship in Chicago to sign with Jordan Brand since MJ.”
And Evans, who additionally has an endorsement cope with OpulenceMD Beauty, is simply getting began. Winning a championship and signing with Jordan Brand had been lifelong objectives.
Asked about being seen as a part of the Sky’s future, she bought quiet for a second.
“I can’t even come up with a word really because it’s mind-blowing to me,” she stated. “Seeing that individuals actually imagine in you. Because I really feel like a variety of instances that lots of people didn’t, however individuals saying that you just’re the longer term exhibits that they imagine in you. They see one thing in you.
“And it just makes me want to keep doing more and more and continuing to work hard because I can see it. I can feel it. I feel like I’m getting better every day in practice with great players, great coaches. We’ve got a variety of different coaches with different points of view. So I’m just continuing to grow my game. I think I can really do some good things.”
In addition to Rose and Parker, Evans stated her favourite gamers are Kobe Bryant, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Diana Taurasi and LeBron James.
She hopes at some point to be on some little lady’s listing, and the Sky is just the start.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com