Down the Line: Nansemond River High product Shannon Evans II is starring in Spanish pro basketball
Shannon Evans II, who grew up in Suffolk, has become one of the best guards in Spanish pro basketball.
Evans, who played for Nansemond River High and in college for Buffalo and Arizona State through 2018, is in his second year with the Real Betis club.
In his first six games of the season, the 6-foot-1, 176-pounder was averaging 20.2 points, 5.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 32 minutes per game. He was shooting 39% from beyond the 3-point arc, 48.1% inside it and 77.8% from the free-throw-line.
That’s an improvement in most cases over a solid 2021-22 season, when he averaged 17.4 points, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 31.7 minutes per contest. He shot 51.2% inside the arc and 81.2% at the free-throw line, but just 30.6% from 3-point range, his lowest since his Buffalo freshman season — the only year he hasn’t averaged scoring in double digits.
Evans never has played fewer than 25.9 minutes per game as a pro. He competed for Hungary’s Atomeromu team, Turkey’s Bahcesehir squad and France’s Pau-Lacq-Orthez club before heading to Real Betis.
Internationally, he has competed for Guinea, averaging about 19 points and more than six assists per game the past couple of seasons.
Granby Hall of Fame: One of the oldest public schools in the state is establishing the Granby High School Sports Hall of Fame. Two of the 757′s all-time most famous coaches will be part of the inaugural class: basketball’s Lefty Driesell and wrestling’s Billy Martin. So will longtime area tennis star Roy Beskin.
Driesell, a Granby alum, coached Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State to the NCAA Tournament and various forms of glory. He’s in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Martin, who wrestled for Michigan State, coached the Comets to 21 state titles in 22 seasons and is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Beskin, who led Granby to its only boys tennis state title, is a Virginia Tech Hall of Famer and has competed internationally.
The dinner and awards will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday at Norfolk Yacht and Country Club. For those who have questions, email granbycometathleticassociation@gmail.com.
Former Veritas star thriving: Vuk Vuksanovic, one of the best young tennis players to come through Hampton Roads, recently was part of a runner-up tandem at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Fall Nationals at Rome Tennis Park in Georgia.
Vuksanovic, who grew up in Montenegro and went to Veritas Collegiate Academy in Chesapeake, is a sophomore at Tufts University in Boston, which finished the spring season ranked fourth in Division III.
He and his doubles partner, Derin Acaroglu of London, qualified for the Fall Nationals through a region tournament. In Georgia, they beat tandems from Washington & Lee, Southwestern University of Texas and Williams of Massachusetts before falling 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-3) in the championship match to third-seeded Vishwa Aduru and James Hopper of Case Western Reserve, a Cleveland university.
What’s coming up
Sunday: Virginia Wesleyan seeks to repeat its women’s soccer Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament championship, playing host to Lynchburg at 1 p.m. ... The William & Mary women’s volleyball team plays host to Delaware at 2 p.m. at Kaplan Arena on the back end of a two-match series.
Monday: W&M opens its basketball season with a women’s-men’s doubleheader against Navy at 5 and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Norfolk State also has a women’s-men’s combo, facing Virginia University of Lynchburg at 5:30 and 7:30 at Echols Hall. Meanwhile, Old Dominion’s men open at Chartway Arena versus Maryland Eastern Shore at 7 p.m., and Hampton’s women open at home against Mid-Atlantic Christian at 6.
Tuesday: In one of the few area sports events on Election Day, the preseason Division III No. 6 Christopher Newport women meet Averett at Freeman Center at 6.
Wednesday: Virginia Wesleyan begins its men’s basketball campaign at home with a 7 p.m. game against Regent.
Thursday: ODU’s volleyball team starts a two-match home series against Southern Mississippi at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: The Division III South Regional cross country meet starts on Newport News’ Lee Hall Mansion course at 11 a.m., with CNU among the expected top teams.
