Stephan Teodosescu
steodosescu@mustangdaily.net
At last Monday’s practice, Cal Poly men’s basketball coach Joe Callero walked off the court and pointed straight at Chris Eversley.
“Double-double,” Callero said to Everlsey. “He’s going to have 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds) in Thursday’s game.”
Rather than anything else, it was more of a light-hearted demand for the junior forward to step up and lead the Mustangs in Thursday’s matchup against Northern Colorado.
But Eversley took the message to heart, and he delivered against the Bears in a big way.
He poured on 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds — his third career double-double — to help the Mustangs grab their first win of the 2012-13 season. And after a year in which several players scored 19 points on separate occasions in 2011, it also marked the first 20-point game for a Cal Poly player since David Hanson scored 25 against Cal State Fullerton two seasons ago.
Eversley’s outburst was in response to his effort in Cal Poly’s opening game at TCU two weeks ago, where he managed eight points on 2 of 5 shooting from the field, a respectable performance, but far from perfection, he said.
“For me personally, I’m my No. 1 critic,” Eversley said. “There’s always room for improvement … Coach Callero demands us to be perfect and that trickles down to us. You start to demand perfection of yourself.”
That quest for perfection on a basketball court began more than two years ago for the 6-foot-7 Eversley. A transfer from Rice University in Texas, he joined the Mustangs in 2010-11 as a redshirt. Admittedly, his decision to attend Rice was made in earnest and while he doesn’t regret the experience, he’s glad to be with the Mustangs now.
In his first year playing with the team as a sophomore last year, Eversley found a groove near the tail end of the season that highlighted his capabilities as both a mid-range and low-post player. He racked up 13 double-figure scoring games, all of which came in the final 18 contests of the season.
As a result of his late-season success on the floor, Callero offered Eversley a chance to start in eight of Cal Poly’s final 12 Big West Conference games last year. It was a sign of things to come.
Eversley spent a team-high 33 minutes on the floor in the Mustangs’ win over Northern Colorado en route to a career night, demonstrating Callero’s confidence in his rising star.
“We got to continue to use him as a scorer,” Callero said following the game. “We got to continue to use him as an energy player and he’s got to continue to understand that as he has success, he’s going to have a commitment (from opposing teams) to stopping his success. I tell people that the hardest difference between high school in college is that in college you have four grown men (coaches) with full-time jobs and livelihood based upon making you look bad the next game.”
Eversley’s play has not only caught the attention of the coaching staff, but of his teammates as well. Junior point guard Jamal Johnson endorsed his fellow starter’s ability to become an elite two-way player for the Mustangs as the season progresses.
“(He brings) versatility as far as being able to step out and shoot and being able to bring that inside game, as well,” Johnson said. “Also, the defensive end because he can guard a two through five, which is a really big thing for us being a really young team.”
With only three seniors on the team, that youth allows Eversley to take on a leadership role on the court, despite it only being his second season on the team, according to Johnson.
“Chris brings the vocal leadership of someone who just knows what they’re doing,” Johnson said. “He can alleviate some of the pressure for the freshman about what coach is about to say before he says it. He’s been there before.”
Eversley, a Chicago native who grew up in a basketball family, is the first to admit his success on the hardwood can be attributed to his parents’ influence growing up.
His dad, Mike “Tank” Eversley, played college basketball at Chicago State and went on to have a professional career with the Chicago Bulls, while his mom had a four-year collegiate career at then-powerhouse Long Beach State. So, it’s no wonder his parents placed a basketball in his crib before he could even walk — signifying his future in hoops.
But for Eversley, humility is key in his quest of helping the Mustangs win a Big West Conference Championship for the first time in school history. He simply wants to be a contributor on this year’s team.
“It’s not about becoming the leading scorer,” Eversley said. “Last year, we had the big three with Amaurys (Fermin), Will (Taylor) and David (Hanson). This year, it’s going to be more along the lines of three, four, five guys that can give you something every night. My role along with the rest of the guys is to contribute.”