To view the latest podcast on your mobile device click here.

If you haven’t subscribed to Planet Dubs on iTunes, do it here.

‘THREE!’ chronicles the Warriors run to the 2018 NBA Championship.

Order the book today!

LAS VEGAS – Through a series of phone calls, Jacob Evans struggled to process that his life-long dream had actually just become a reality.

First, his agent alerted Evans that the Warriors planned to select him with the No. 28 pick of the 2018 NBA draft. Then, Warriors coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers offered congratulatory messages once the move became official. Then, Warriors forward Draymond Green gave support and outlined high expectations.

During and after each call, Evans pivoted his thoughts back to what made this possible. He blossomed under demanding expectations in high school (St. Michael the Archangel in Baton Rouge, La.) and in college (University of Cincinnati). He also emulated a work ethic that his family showed with words and actions.

“My support team did it. I didn’t get here by myself,” Evans reflected in an interview with Bay Area News Group. “Especially to come play for the Golden State Warriors, I was really happy. I felt a sigh of relief. I did something to make them feel proud.”

Moments later, Evans saw what marked one of the rare times that his mom cried. After her tears dried up, though, Theresa Chatman-Evans provided another message. It illustrated the constant reinforcement Jacob heard throughout his childhood amid his quest to reach his dream.

“‘You’re playing for the Warriors. It’s exciting! But there’s still a lot of hard work,’” Chatman-Evans recalled telling her son on draft night. “‘This is a job. You make sure you’re preparing for your job every day that you step on that court. Don’t you ever stop working.’” To subscribe to the Planet Dubs podcast click here.

Mother knows best

That explained why the Warriors selected Evans with the No. 28th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

They admit they have no idea how much he will produce on a star-studded roster that features Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson as the primary scorers. Through four summer-league games thus far, Evans sat one game with a right toe injury and played only seven minutes in another after suffering a rib contusion. He’s averaged 6.5 points on only 39 percent shooting.

In the Warriors’ win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday in Las Vegas, Evans had seven points while going only 3-of-12 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range.

Though the Warriors believe the 21-year-old Evans will improve those numbers, they did not draft him for his scoring. They picked him because of other qualities they believe reflect their selfless culture.

“I love what I’m seeing,” said Warriors assistant coach Willie Green, the team’s summer-league coach. “This is the time for him to be aggressive. He’s a knowledgeable kid on the floor. He can pick up things fairly easily, has great timing and is a really good defender. He’s still young. He has a lot of upside in that sense. I’m enjoying what I’m seeing so far.”

Evans’ mom has served as the main source in molding her son’s identity. She has worked as an accountant for KinderCare, a national childcare chain that often prompted her to work 12-hour days as well as spending time at home studying. A young Evans watched with an observant eye. As he said, “she means everything to me.”

“Just being a hard worker and being dedicated to your craft. That’s something she always told me,” Evans said. “If you want something, you have to be willing to sacrifice anything if you really want it. So I just tried to take that with me everywhere I go.”

Evans noticed the same qualities in his father, Jerry, who served in the Marines and stressed the importance of discipline before he and Chatman-Evans split when he was six years old. Evans’ older brothers, Devin and Demarquis, offered similar feedback. With Chatman-Evans often at work, Evans’ brothers helped with driving him to school and ensuring he trained consistently.

But Evans’ mother, a former point guard at Grambling State University, shaped his basketball journey the most. Chatman-Evans introduced a five-year-old Jacob to the sport after buying him a mini basketball set. They watched basketball games together on television. Once Jacob played on an actual basket at St. Michael the Archangel and the University of Cincinnati, Chatman-Evans often provided more scrutinizing critiques of her sons’ games than his coaches.

In between laughs, Jacob recalled he would hear his coaches praise his play only for his mom to point out his missed shots, his shot selection, his failed defensive assignments and his turnovers.

“‘If nobody points out the things that you do wrong, then you’ll never improve. You’re going to think everything was fine. This is not to tear you down,’” Chatman-Evans recalled often telling her son. “‘You want to get better. You don’t ever want to settle.’”

Want real-time Warriors news texted to your phone? Sign up for Mark Medina’s private text messaging service.

Life lessons

Chatman-Evans considered it important for her son not to settle on his education, either. So Chatman-Evans enrolled Jacob as a freshman at St. Michael the Archangel, a private school in Baton Rouge, La.

Beforehand, St. Michael’s boys basketball coach Drew Hart forewarned Chatman-Evans what this would mean.

“‘You need to give me full control of Jacob,’” Hart recalled telling his mother. “‘He’s going to get upset and not like me at the beginning. But I can take him to the next level.’”

Chatman-Evans’ response: “Coach, he’s yours.”

Evans then spent the next four years proving he could handle the tough love.

Hart ruled that Evans could only play on the JV team as a freshman, so he played without complaint, trained at late hours and watched film. Evans once forgot to complete a homework assignment, so Hart forced him to run up hills carrying 45-pound plates above his head for about an hour in 103-degree heat. Evans completed the drill and refused to quit. When he arrived late for a game because a haircut appointment lasted longer than expected, Evans obliged Harts’ orders to sit that game.

“It was tough. He taught me to take school very seriously and with how I carry myself,” Evans said of Hart. “I don’t want to be just seen as a good basketball player. I want to be seen as a good person off the court as well.”

Telling words that Hart considered Evans’ rare tardiness as the worst thing he had ever done in high school. Otherwise, Evans strayed away from fights, drugs and selfish play. Instead, Evans led the 10th-seeded St. Michael Warriors to an upset of No. 2 Peabody in the 2015 state playoffs.

Evans went on a 48-point scoring outburst in another game when Hart pushed him to play more aggressively instead of worrying about his teammates. He prodded his teammates to practice and scrimmage on off days. He matured enough his junior year that Hart often asked Evans to babysit his children. Shortly after the Warriors drafted Evans, he visited his alma mater and helped with practice.

“He has a winners’ mentality,” Hart said of Evans. “After Jacob had the understanding this is a great place for him and he has potential to be successful, he pushed himself.”

None of this surprises those that know Evans well. Before his sophomore season, Evans broke his leg in an AAU game and stayed sidelined for eight weeks. During that time, Evans stopped playing basketball for the first time since he started playing it. He did not sulk, though.

“When you’re at the top of your game and a freak accident happens, it can always be like ‘Okay why me, why me?’ He didn’t say that,” said Chris Ferguson, Evans’ AAU coach. “He said, ‘Why not me. Thank God for what you have brought me to do.’ So that’s what helped.”

Keeping perspective

Despite passing all of those tests, Evans did not attract much interest from college powerhouses. Not even local LSU and Tulane. Cincinnati noticed though, and Evans rewarded the Bearcats for their loyalty. His mother first had reservations because of the distance from home, but she soon considered it another opportunity for Evans to grow.

It also helped that Evans wanted to prove something after feeling overlooked.

So after starting only eight games as a freshman, Evans soon started every game as a sophomore and junior. In two years, he improved his 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame by cutting out sugary and fried food. He avoided major injuries and refused to sit out during minor ones. He improved his outside shooting as a freshman (37.2 percent), sophomore (47.3 percent) and junior (42.7 percent).

He credited Bearcats coach Mick Cronin for further elevating his defense. Under Evans’ presence, the Bearcats made three NCAA tournament appearances and finished with a combined 83-22 record.

“That kind of put a chip on my shoulder I already had to go out there, especially in college, to just dominate,” Evans said. “They’re not talking about the Cincinnati Bearcats. I tell my team we’re going to go out there and we’re going to dominate.”

Evans showed his leadership regarding something more substantial during his first summer back home in Baton Rouge, La. since going to college. In August 2016, Evans needed to evacuate a friend’s home because of the city’s flooding. He walked with his friend through waist-high water carrying boxes of possessions for a few miles to his mother’s house. He had other friends who lost their homes, too.

“It was just tough seeing all of that happen and knowing I had to leave going right back to school to get ready for a season,” Evans said. “That kind of just put a focus in my mind to do everything and anything I can to help out.”

Evans wanted to help out by staying at home. His mother, though, stressed that he needed to leave to further his education and maximize his chances of becoming an NBA player. Eventually, his friend’s family had their house rebuilt.

“I can have a good job and make some money and help my family out,” Evans said. “It was just the struggle growing up with my mom and brothers. It was tough. But I’m trying to help them out any way that I can.”

Full circle

With Evans just signing his rookie contract with the Warriors, he has found a way to help his family out. He has promised his mother he would finish the 15 credit hours he needs to graduate. He also plans to support his family financially.

As Evans celebrated this moment during his introductory press conference at the Warriors’ practice facility, he saw another reminder of what that support system has meant to him. His mother, Demarquis, and Ferguson attended. Afterward, Chatman-Evans stayed in her hotel room working on her laptop to minimize the consequence of taking a day off for her son’s press conference.

“I got here by working my butt off every day,” Evans said. “I’m going to continue to do that and see how it goes from here.”