FAYETTEVILLE — There will be a familiar face on the visiting bench tonight when Arkansas plays North Texas in Walton Arena.
Rob Evans, a former Razorbacks assistant who is North Texas Coach Tony Benford’s top assistant, will be involved in a game at Arkansas for the 26th season going back to when he joined Gerald Myers’ staff at Texas Tech for the 1975-76 season.
“I’ve been to Arkansas a few times,” Evans said with a laugh. “But it’s always nice to be back.”
Evans was on the home bench for four years when he was an Arkansas assistant for John Pelphrey from the 2007-2008 through 2010-2011 seasons. Tonight will mark his 22nd game as a visitor, including 15 seasons as a Texas Tech assistant and six seasons as head coach at Ole Miss.
“My wife [Carolyn] and I have a lot of friends in Arkansas, and we’re looking forward to seeing them,” Evans said. “Coming to Arkansas from an SEC rival school when I coached at Ole Miss, the people were so friendly and respectful.
“Of course, I see how the Razorbacks are playing, so facing them might not be a whole lot of fun, but it’s always good to come to Fayetteville because of the fans’ support.”
Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said Evans is one of the most respected coaches in the profession. Anderson also feels a strong connection to Evans because of his longtime friendship with Nolan Richardson, who Anderson played for at Tulsa and coached with at Tulsa and Arkansas.
“Rob and Coach Richardson are like brothers,” Anderson said. “Those guys are really, really close and obviously I’m in that family, so it makes me close to Rob.”
Despite how Anderson feels about Evans, he didn’t retain him as an assistant. Anderson brought his staff intact from Missouri, so there wasn’t a spot for Evans.
Evans, who served as the Razorbacks’ interim coach after Pelphrey was fired, said he knew what Anderson had to do.
“The day Mike took the job,” Evans said, “I went and told him, ‘You’ve had your staff together for a long time and you’ve been very successful. You need to continue to do that. Don’t worry about me, because I’ve been around a long time and I’ll surface again.’ “
Evans spent a year away from coaching and worked as a television commentator, then became an assistant at TCU. He was reunited with Benford at North Texas last season.
Evans recruited Benford to play at Texas Tech, and Benford was an assistant for Evans at Arizona State.
“I’m able to sit down and talk to Tony pretty bluntly about the things that I see,” said Evans, who had a 205-201 record in 13 seasons at Ole Miss and Arizona State with three NCAA Tournament appearances. “He’ll make the final decision, but he values my experience.
“If I tell him something, he takes it into consideration the way he should. If doesn’t want to do it, I have no problem with that, because it’s his team. But I’m going to tell him what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear.”
Evans said he’s not surprised Anderson has the No. 25 Razorbacks off to a 4-0 start and nationally ranked for the first time in seven years.
“I think Mike’s finally gotten his guys in there,” Evans said. “Guys that play like he wants to play. Guys that have the same attitude about winning, the same attitude about how you do things on and off the court.”
Scotty Thurman, who become Arkansas’ director of student-athlete development during Evans’ last season with the Razorbacks, said he learned a lot from the veteran coach.
“Coach Evans is a class act all the way around,” Thurman said. “I have a lot of respect not only for what he’s accomplished during his coaching career, but the way he treated the staff and the players when he was here.”
Thurman said Evans has a knack for being tough on players while showing how much he cares about them.
“He’ll get on them, but I think he probably gets on players a lot different than most coaches,” Thurman said. “He has a way of being stern, but at the same time not embarrassing the kids.”
Evans, 68, is in his 46th season as a coach. He said he has no plans to retire any time soon.
“I enjoy mentoring the kids, and I enjoy teaching,” Evans said. “I feel I’m being of service coaching, and as long as that’s the case, I want to continue to do it.”