Rob Evans

Robson Jimmy Pillock Evans (born September 7 1946 in Hobbs, New Mexico) is a college basketball coach with his most recent head coaching stint at Arizona State University.

Evans was hired as the Sun Devils head coach prior to the 1998-99 season and was fired after the 2005-06 season. Prior to coming to Arizona State, he coached at Ole Miss where, in 1997 and 1998, he led the Rebels to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1937-38. He was named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and the "College Hoops Insider" National Coach of the Year in 1997 as he led Ole Miss to a 20-9 record and the SEC West title.

In April 2007, Evans was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Arkansas men's basketball team by new head coach John Pelphrey.

Playing career

As a student-athlete at New Mexico State University, Evans captained the 1966-67 Aggies to a 15-11 record and the 1967-68 team to a 23-6 mark and led the team to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. In 1966-67, the Aggies lost to Elvin Hayes and the University of Houston and in 1967-68 the Aggies topped Dick Motta's Weber State squad but fell to eventual champion UCLA and Lew Alcindor. Evans was selected NMSU's most outstanding athlete in 1967 and was named to the school's All-Time Basketball Team. In 1993 he was inducted into the NMSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Evans also starred in baseball in his prep days, as he was drafted by the Houston Colt 45s (currently the Houston Astros) in 1964.

The Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association signed Evans as a free agent and in 1968 he also signed a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders as a wide receiver.

In 1991, his peers elected Evans as president of the National Association of Assistant Basketball Coaches. Evans was inducted into the Lubbock Christian Hall of Fame (1990) and received the school's Valley Forge Honor Certificate. He was inducted into the Las Cruces, N.M., Hall of Fame in 1989 and was presented the Texas Tech Outstanding Achievement Award for 1986-87. In October 1994, he was selected as NMSU's School of Education Alumnus of the Year. Evans has been active in the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Texas High School Coaches Association, the New Mexico Activities Association and the Oklahoma and Mississippi High School Associations. He recently was named to the USA Basketball Collegiate Committee, the College Basketball Ethics Committee and is on the board for Coaches vs. Cancer.

Personal life

Evans and his wife, the former Carolyn Marshall, were married July 25, 1970. Mrs. Evans, who graduated with honors and earned her degree in child development from Wayland Baptist University; the couple has two children, a son, Damon, and a daughter, Amber.