CHAPEL HILL — There’s no replacing RJ Davis, one of UNC basketball’s all-time great scorers and 3-point shooters.
Davis will one day soon have his No. 4 jersey hanging from the Smith Center rafters, but head coach Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels don’t have time to reminisce as they looked toward the 2025-26 season.
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With RJ Davis gone, UNC needed a lead guard to join senior returner Seth Trimble. Hubert Davis believes the Heels found one in Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, a player known for his sweet shooting stroke as one of the top long-range marksmen in the nation last season.
“Him coming here not only brings a high level of skill from a basketball standpoint, but also experience, and it’s something that we were looking for,” Hubert Davis said of Evans, who has two years of eligibility remaining.
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It only took a few days in April for Evans to realize Chapel Hill was “the spot” for him.
“My main things in the portal was just, I wanted to be at a winning school and I wanted to go somewhere that will make a run in March. That’s the main thing for me,” Evans said during his first press conference as a Tar Heel.
“I think (Hubert Davis’) pitch was honestly that. He wants to get back to winning and he wants to do it now. We connected on that. What better place to be than UNC?”
Will Kyan Evans remain elite 3-point shooter with UNC basketball?
The son of Steve and Stacey Evans, Kyan grew up in Kansas City with parents and siblings aiming to create a competitive culture.
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“We always used to do shooting contests when I was little,” Evans said. “Always from a kid, everybody thought they were the best shooter in the family. I kind of solidified that last year.”
The numbers back up his claim to the title. Across 36 games as a starter at Colorado State, the sophomore guard made 44.6% of his 157 3-pointers, which was the 24th-best mark nationally. He knocked down multiple 3-pointers in 21 games, including three or more 13 times and a career-best six treys against Memphis in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
“From an offensive standpoint, people talk about spacing. The only way that you can get spacing is to have good shooting,” Davis said.
Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Colorado State Rams guard Kyan Evans (0) drives past Memphis Tigers forward Dain Dainja (42) during the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
“You could put five guys and spread them out all over the floor, and if they can’t shoot, there are going to be five defenders in the lane. And so you have to have guys that have the ability to shoot the basketball. Throughout his career, he’s been a great 3-point shooter.”
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Evans also led the Mountain West in true shooting percentage (64.5%), making 85.2% of his free throws. If he can maintain that 44.6% mark from beyond the arc, it would make him UNC’s best 3-pointer shooter percentage-wise since Cameron Johnson (45.7%) in 2019.
“You can’t leave any space. No space,” Evans said. “You want to try to keep me out the paint, ‘cause I’m gonna get my teammates involved, but it’s hard to do both. So, good luck.”
Is Kyan Evans too small to guard ACC players?
One of the popular knocks against Evans since his arrival at UNC is his 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame. That makes him a small guard by Power 4 standards, but he’s confident in his ability to adapt as a defender and playmaker against bigger players.
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“That’s definitely something I had to figure out last year as well. Just being on a college court and not being the biggest guy is different,” Evans said. “You gotta be really physical and you gotta kind of use some things to your strengths. There’s definitely ways I had to learn and figure out how to guard bigger guys.”
Adding he’s “always played with older people” on the court, Evans believes his “good instincts” will help him defensively.
Davis described Evans as an “excellent defender,” but there’s no doubt teams will try to create mismatches against the 6’2 guard in an attempt to avoid Trimble’s on-ball defense and the length of other Tar Heels.
Is Kyan Evans a point guard?
When asked about ballhandling duties and facilitating, Evans wasn’t sure how to answer that question in the preseason. It’s September and there’s plenty of time to figure out roles ahead of UNC’s regular-season opener on Nov. 3 against Central Arkansas at the Smith Center.
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“To be honest, we’re not really sure yet. I think I’m a point guard, so I’m going to do what a point guard does and I’m going to handle the ball,” Evans said. “But I think they’ll handle the ball as well. I think HD’s just gonna put us in the best position to be successful.”
Either way, Davis and UNC center Henri Veesaar are confident in Evans as a versatile creator, whether he’s making shots or getting others involved. Veesaar, a 7-footer who transferred from Arizona, started to build that “great connection” with Evans throughout the summer.
“He shoots at such a higher rate and so efficiently, I think it’s very hard for other teams to guard,” Veesaar said. “And when he gets downhill, he has a really good floater and is such a good decision maker. He stays very patient and it’s amazing playing with him.”
Evans had nine games with multiple assists and just one turnover, combining for 39 assists and four turnovers in those matchups. In the final nine games of the season, he combined for 26 assists and 14 turnovers. With big targets like Veesaar and Wilson around him, things could be easier at UNC. But with RJ Davis gone, Evans will play a vital role in trying to get the Tar Heels back on track.
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Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What Kyan Evans brings to UNC basketball as guard for Tar Heels
