West Side’s Dana Evans insists improvement is necessary for her to realize her ultimate goal next year.
But considering the way the junior guard performed this season as the Post-Tribune 2015 Girls Basketball Player of the Year, that mission could prove pretty difficult to accomplish.
“I’m going to be really hungry,” Evans said.
Evans led the state in scoring average with 35.8 points in taking West Side (19-5) to the Class 4A Lowell Sectional title and a berth in the LaPorte Regional against eventual state finalist, Penn.
“I feel like I really have something else to prove,” Evans said. “I have to go out and prove I should be Miss Basketball. It’s pretty hard for us up in this area to get those looks because some people will judge you by where you’re from, instead of who you are.”
If Evans is to realize her dream and become the first Miss Basketball from the region since Lake Central’s Kelly Komara in 1998, she’ll not only need to have a spectacular season next winter.
She’ll need definitely extra exposure.
“I have to get down to Indianapolis and be seen,” Evans said. “I have the attitude that I want to win, I’ve got to win. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win, no matter if I have to do this, or do that.
“I’m very driven. I can’t stand losing — it gets to me.”
West Side coach Rod Fisher indicated he plans on possibly playing in a Christmas tournament in the Indianapolis area so media throughout the state have an opportunity to see Evans in person.
“We definitely need to get her down there,” Fisher said. “I’m not a marketing major, but we’re going to go out and get one to help us out and publicize a little bit what Dana’s done.
“Everything is going to be set in place for her to succeed. If we’re playing on a level playing field, I’d say she’ll have as good a chance as anybody in the state of winning the award.”
Some of the right people who need to see Evans should take notice, particularly if the Cougars’ star continues the torrid scoring pace she maintained this season.
Evans scored 858 points, topped the 40-point barrier nine times, and scored at least 30 points in nine other games.
Her two lowest scoring outputs came with 27 points against Penn and 20 against national powerhouse Chicago Young.
“I can’t wait until next year,” Evans said. “What I’ve been able to accomplish this year just makes me want to do more, and more, and more. Team-wise, I want us to go a lot further next season.
“Winning Miss Basketball is my main individual goal. Playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game is another big goal for me, but winning Miss Basketball is the biggest.”
To that end, Evans wants to leave a legacy.
“I want to be remembered,” she said. “I just don’t want to be another player who came out of Gary West Side.”
Evans doesn’t really have to worry about that happening, according to Fisher. He spoke of Evans in comparison to Skylar Diggins, who won Miss Basketball in 2009 at South Bend Washington and was an All-American at Notre Dame.
“I’ve been at it a long time, and Dana’s the best I’ve ever coached and probably seen,” Fisher said. “Skylar Diggins is the only player I’ve ever seen who’s maybe a notch above what Dana is right now. Diggins and Dana are in the same class as far as I’m concerned.
“Princeton High School’s Jackie Young is going to Notre Dame, but I think Dana’s just as good as her, too.”
John O’Malley is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
