It’s a tough job, but Iowa’s Reggie Evans has to do it – be the toughest guy in the Big Ten, that is.
“I think this league has had its share of nasty guys,” Illinois head coach Bill Self said, “and Reggie Evans is the nastiest.”
Evans took Iowa City by storm after playing two seasons of junior college ball in Florida, muscling out 14.4 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior tranfer in his 2000-01 season with the Hawkeyes.
As a senior, Evans has become the Hawkeyes’ primary scorer and rebounder in the post, improving his numbers to 17.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
“Reggie is a physical kid,” said Iowa head coach Steve Alford, who agrees that Evans is the toughest man in the conference. “He works hard at both ends.”
Purdue’s head coach Gene Keady said he wishes his team played more like Evans.
“We don’t have many tough guys,” Keady said. “All of Indiana’s players are tough, but Reggie Evans (is) especially. After games we’re always talking about, ‘We’re soft,’ but Reggie Evans – he has tough mental focus.”
DANCE BOOKING: It’s only January, but March is already on everybody’s mind.
Some Big Ten coaches say it’s too early to start worrying about getting into the NCAA Tournament. Others are concerned about how the balanced Big Ten will fare in the selection process. They hope the league’s parity will not hurt the number of teams that get in, the way it did the Atlantic Coast Conference several years ago, when the powerhouse only qualified just three teams.
“The conference has to be concerned with (fewer teams getting into the Tournament), but I would be surprised if we didn’t get at least five teams in this year,” Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien said, listing his team, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan State and Minnesota as contenders.
Self insists the conference – and thus his 2-2 team – is playing at an unusually high level .
“The Big Ten is not down,” Self said. “The Big Ten is balanced.”
LEADING THE WAY: Tuesday night’s matchup between No. 11 Illinois and No. 17 Iowa was supposed to determine who was No. 1 in the Big Ten.
Instead, both teams had mediocre 2-2 conference records going into the game. Illinois’ 77-66 victory did little more than keep the Illini in contention, while it all but forced the Hawkeyes to kiss good-bye a shot at the top seed in the Big Ten tournament.
Alford said Monday that the Tuesday contest would be more important for his team than for Illinois, because the Hawkeyes lost at home early in the season.
Unfortunately for Alford, the Hawkeyes failed to do the one thing he said they had to do to win – contain Illinois’ Frank Williams, whom he called one of the best players in the country.
Williams scored 16 points in a game that the Hawkeyes trailed from the start, and even Reggie Evans’ toughness couldn’t provide Iowa with a spark.
Contrary to preseason predictions, which showed Illinois and Iowa at the top of the pack, No. 25 Indiana (4-0 in Big Ten play) and unranked Ohio State (3-0) are atop the current standings, with Minnesota (3-1) close behind.
BOILING OVER: Keady is on the offensive, attacking his team for its defensive weaknesses.
“We’re back to our old nemesis of not guarding anyone,” Keady said. “We’re letting everyone do what they want to do.”
The problem does not discriminate – even Willie Deane, who has been impressive offensively, did not escape Keady’s rant.
“Scoring-wise, yes, (Deane) is fine,” the coach said. “(But) defensively he’s like everybody else. Scoring is not a factor because we don’t win.”
