May 13, 2008

Saluki redshirt freshman Nick Evans is one of nine players who have been selected to play on the Reach USA traveling basketball squad that will play in China during the next two weeks.

Evans, a 6-foot-11 center from Carbondale, was en route to Beijing on Monday where his team is scheduled to play eight games in 14 days against Chinese professional club teams.

"We definitely think this will benefit him, because he's had a year off from playing in real games where they call fouls," said head coach Chris Lowery. "He just needs minutes. He needs to be on the floor in a real-game situation."

Reach USA is a division of Sports Reach, which is a Christian sports ministry founded 22 years ago for the purpose of reaching the world for Christ through sports. This year, Sports Reach is scheduled to take nine international mission trips, including seven in areas of the world where access to the Gospel is difficult, according to the organization's website.

Reach USA is coached by Jerrance Howard, an assistant at Illinois. The assistant coach is Dennis Gates, who is an assistant at Northern Illinois.

"They needed a big kid, and he's going to play a lot," Lowery said. "I told Jerrance, 'Don't hold back on Nick. Give him everything you've got and push him. He's a quick learner.'"