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Monday, December 23, 2024

Isaiah Evans talks buckets, confidence and being a state champion


One of the greatest feelings in hoops is seeing your team almost single-handedly win. Oppressive confidence floods the veins. The pressure, the noise, the hungry defenders’ eyes and their clapping hands seem to slip away. There is only one recurring thought: the ball falls through the net. It is the night of March 8, 2024.

In the green-accented gymnasium at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, NC, stands 6-7 senior Isaiah Evans. In front of him, a sea of ​​white T-shirts shouting obscenities. But here’s the thing. Slim, one of his many names, was bred for this environment. Hell, he lives for it.

The nation’s No. 13 overall prospect in the class of 2024 (via 247 Sports ) is just built differently. Nights like this are filled with depressing expressions and talking crazy trash to the crowd, only after they’ve had their meal. With her tongue swinging from side to side as she begins to open her controversial side-by-side middle finger, it would be a good business decision to just get out of the way. Although there are few, very few who do it successfully.

Dressed in his royal blue and red North Mecklenburg threads, the future Duke Blue Devil led his team to the finish line against the defending 4A state champions in a tense atmosphere that rivaled the Drake/Kendrick Lamar beef. And yet, Showtime Slim presented a masterpiece. 48 shots without fries, 21 of them in a row in the second half.

“I’ve always had an energetic feeling about myself, but I really started to get active my sophomore year, right after that ninth grade summer,” Evans says. “I took it really personally.”

After being placed on the JV team during his freshman year, Evans spent all of the following summer working his way up the varsity rotation as a sophomore. In Slim’s words, “It was activation time.” After flipping the switch two years ago, the 18-year-old striker now holds the title of one of the deadliest scorers in his class. A list of North Carolina Gatorade State Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American, defending state champion and SLAM All-American has only solidified his legacy.

It was only a month into his sophomore campaign before the major college offers started pouring in, quickly transitioning into a downpour. While his peers began flocking to prep school lists, Slim decided to stay home, completing his final days of high school in the town that raised him.

“When I got those first two offers (my) sophomore year, there was really no reason to leave,” Evans said. “You’re playing a national schedule every year, you’re going to these tournaments with these top teams, so I’m going to show up. And I feel like I’m getting better every year, so what’s the point in leaving?”

After scoring 23 points, including four treys, Evans’ hometown trip was cemented with an undefeated season and a 2024 state championship. While visions of Cameron Indoor and a hostile enemy crowd are in the near future, Evans knows he will miss the memories of those spirited Friday nights when he bent the game to his will. But there is one more solvent: the reminder of his legacy.

After igniting North Carolina’s storied basketball community as the last homecoming star, Evans cemented himself in North Mecklenburg history by having his jersey retired at the end of April. He let us in as we spoke.

“Not many people know this, but I will be the first and last person to wear the No. 0 (in North Mek). It really meant a lot to me.”


Portraits by Luke Schleifer.





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