At the start of the school year, new Kimball coach Nick Smith drove one point again and again.
“When you see schools in here – they might be coming to look at somebody else – go as hard as you can in open gym,” Smith told his players.
“And that’s how a lot of these kids got looks.”
Kimball’s boys basketball team had five players sign Division I National Letters of Intent: Jawun Evans (Oklahoma State), Christian Davis (Arkansas State), Kristopher Martin (Oral Roberts), De’Rias Johnson (Southern) and Xaivon Turnage (Prairie View A&M).
With the exception of Evans – a consensus four-star guard who led Kimball to the 2014 Class 4A title – none of the players had scholarship offers prior to this fall.
Kimball’s reputation as a loaded program brought in 15 to 20 coaches since August, Smith said, allowing schools to get a full grasp of the talent on its roster.
“Oral Roberts came into see two other kids, and another one of our kids [Martin] was going off,” Smith said. “So they said they’d come back in one more time – and they offered him. That happened with Prairie View, too.”
Evans’ signing continues Oklahoma State’s multi-year success in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, thanks to the consistent efforts of head coach Travis Ford and assistant Butch Pierre. Five players on OSU’s current roster are from the area, including Lincoln’s Le’Bryan Nash and Flower Mound Marcus’ Phil Forte.
“The coaches, I felt like I knew them all my life,” Evans said. “And when I went on campus, I felt like I was at home. And the players, they treated me well; they’re all a family.”
– Corbett Smith