Corey Evans, the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball General Manager, was hired back on March 31st. Evans joined Mo Egger on ESPN 1530 to talk about his role on the Bearcats and his former employer before he came to Cincinnati, the 2025 NBA Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he formerly worked as a talent scout.
"Late March through the portal was one of the most crazy and hectic periods of days that I've ever encountered. I hope that doesn't happen next year. I can safely say everyone in the industry feels the same way." Evans had to deal with 9 nine players from last year's roster entering the transfer portal, along with trying to build up a roster to compete in one of the best conferences in college basketball.
"What I've learned really fast here is that in the NBA, you make a decision and you have months and months to decide, and in college basketball, especially with the portal, you have a few hours sometimes, so it's way more hectic, which means you gotta be on the ball." Evans was on the ball, getting 6 commitments out of the portal, building the 18th-best transfer class in the NCAA and the 3rd-best transfer class in the Big 12.
Evans said that his role is pretty ambiguous; he helps in every part of the program, if it's scouting and recruiting or dealing with NIL. Anything to make the coach's job easier so they can go ahead and coach and get our players ready for the season.
"We want energy givers and want to bring the right people on to the team," said Evans on Monday afternoon when asked about the similarities between what you look for in the NBA and in College Basketball players.
Evans' comments highlight a gap the Bearcats have faced in recent years- finding a true energy spark off the bench. someone to come off the bench and give some energy offensivley, or someone who will stop an opposing team's run with defense. We have seen flashes of it in Dillion Mitchell or Jizzle James, but no one has had that "it" factor since Jaron Cumberland or Jacob Evans III. Jizzle James can and should take the step next season now that it will officially be his team with the departure of Simas Lukosius and Dan Skillings Jr.
"I'm blessed and lucky, this place is impressive. What I thought it was, it is even better times ten. As far as the resources and support, I'm excited about the people in the building, whether it's the coaching staff, the administration, and of course, the players." Evans described his relationship with head coach Wes Miller, going back 12-13 years to his days at UNC Greensboro. "We have a ton of respect for one another." He goes on to say they have similar viewpoints when it comes to how they want to work towards this common goal, and it has been nothing short of awesome being able to work with someone like him.
"I feel like I'm finally getting my feet on the ground here a bit, and I'm ready for the season to start. I'm ready to get these guys better. I'm patiently optimistic about what we can do." Said Evans as he closed out his visit on ESPN radio Monday afternoon.