Former Indiana University basketball standout Brian Evans has earned his share of honors through the years.
Evans, an Indiana All-Star from Terre Haute South High School, was named the Big Ten Most Valuable Player in 1996. A first-round NBA pick by the Orlando Magic in 1996, Evans was named to the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Now, the Carmel resident will be inducted in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023. The induction ceremony is set for March 22 in Indianapolis, but Evans said he unfortunately can’t attend because of a prior commitment.
“As the years fly by and some of my former teammates found their way into the Hall of Fame, I suppose it became a possibility to me that my number might eventually be called,” Evans said. “Induction into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a wonderful honor, and I’m beyond humbled. It ranks right up there at the top (of honors).”
The 6-foot-8 Evans averaged 13.7 points per game for his IU career. He averaged 21.2 points as a senior in 1996.
Evans played in the NBA with the Orlando Magic, New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves over three seasons, averaging 3.7 points in 102 games. He then played internationally for a few years.
“I dreamed as a kid to play in the NBA,” Evans said. “I was humbled to play in that league. Playing in Italy and Japan really shaped my life and was an altogether wonderful experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
Evans said his favorite game at IU was against Purdue in 2020, when his former coach, Bob Knight, returned for a game for the first time since being fired in 2000.
“My favorite games were the series against Kentucky and all of the games against Purdue,” Evans said of his playing days.
Evans and his wife, Erin, have three daughters and a son.
All three daughters played volleyball. Emerson, a Carmel High School senior, will play volleyball at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall. Lauren, a CHS junior, has committed to play volleyball at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2024. Youngest daughter London will be a freshman at CHS this fall. Joe, a fifth-grader, plays basketball for the Carmel Pups, a Carmel Dads’ Club travel team.
Evans and Dr. Steve Green, a former IU basketball player and dentist, co-founded Aurora Speciality Sleep Clinic, which makes custom-fit oral devices that help people who suffer from sleep apnea and snoring.
