This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jazz forward Jeremy Evans established himself as a legitimate NBA player under former head coaches Jerry Sloan and Tyrone Corbin.
Can he take the next step for Utah's new regime?
Evans, of course, is a former second-round draft pick from Western Kentucky. He averaged career-highs in points (6.1), rebounds (4.7) and minutes (18.3) last season.
Evans hopes to continue his progress under coach Quin Snyder, who likes what he's seen during the opening two days of training camp.
"One of the things he can do is roll to the basket and put pressure on the rim," Snyder said Wednesday. "… He can be a dynamic roller. And he's really working on the defensive end — trying to do what we want. That sets a good bar for everyone."
A close-to-the-basket player on offense during his first three seasons in the NBA, Evans showed an ability last year to step out and make jump shots.
Snyder wants him to keep shooting, apparently.
"Of course I have confidence," Evans said. "Coach has instilled that. He tells me, if I'm open, to shoot the ball. Even threes."
Throughout his career, Evans has been close friends with Gordon Hayward, who was also a product of the 2010 draft. What has Hayward seen from Evans so far?
"He's still a high-flyer," he said. "He still has plays where you don't realize how high he can get. He does it and it's like, 'Wow.' He's also shown he can step out a little bit and shoot that jump shot.
"I've known he can do it. He's been doing it since he was a rookie. It's just a matter of confidence, [and] coach is instilling that confidence in him. He's instilling that in all the big guys. We need them to space the floor … and knock down that jump shot."
Evans is entering the final year of his contract, but he hasn't thought much about it.
"Not really," he said. "I always go out and play the same way — play hard, run the floor, help on defense. Just play hard [and] do what the coach expects from me."
The new veterans
The Jazz practiced for over two hours on Wednesday morning as two-a-days continued.
"It's been good," Hayward said. "It's been good to be back out there. It's been a long summer for us. Any time you don't make the playoffs it's a long summer. It's been been fast, it's been uptempo [and] it's been detail-oriented, which is really good for us."
Except for Dahntay Jones (10 seasons) and Steve Novak (eight seasons), nobody on the roster has more experience than Hayward and Evans.
"… People look toward us because we've been here," Hayward said. "Coach looks for us a little bit. He leans on us just like we lean on him. It does kind of feel like we're the veterans."