NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Montana of last decade

4. RayQuan Evans – Florida State

The first player on today’s list that seemed to escape the Big Sky, Evans is a 6’4 guard from Billings who has had some intriguing success in the college game. It all started at the College of North Idaho, where he starred for a pair of seasons at the junior college level. Evans then arrived at Florida State, spending the last three seasons with the Seminoles, including that bonus year from the pandemic, and playing a decent role in Leonard Hamilton’s program.

He was a stud at North Idaho, and settled into a decent role with at Florida State. He didn’t play much as a junior, but worked his way into the starting lineup as a senior, with an early 24-point effort against NC State solidifying his role. He helped lead Florida State to an ACC regular season title in his first year and played solid minutes on a team that made the Sweet Sixteen the next year. In his final collegiate season, he averaged 8.0 points and 3.2 assists per game, scoring a career-high 28 points in a late season win over Clemson.

Evans was not one of the stars of those successful Florida State teams of recent years, but quietly played a steady role on the roster. The former junior college star actually ranked among the tops in the ACC in assists and steals per game in that final season, while making an impact on the defensive side of the ball. The Montana native came a long way after growing up in a Native American tribe to starring for the Seminoles in the ACC.