“Some people see me as a Division II coach,” Evans said. Others “see me as we’ve got one of the top 100, top 120 programs in college basketball. It depends on how you see my situation.”
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione interviewed Evans earlier this week. Evans declined to comment on the interview, but though the ninth-year UCO coach remains a longshot for the job, he’s rising up the list as other coaches fall off the OU radar.
Basketball is different from football, which has few layers between major powers and lower divisions. But in hoops, between the Big 12 and the next lower division, you’ve still got various degrees of mid-major and low-major.
So a Division II basketball coach is expected to climb the ladder gradually.
But Evans has a counter.
“I don’t agree with that,” Evans said. “Division II, when you’re at the level we’re at, that’s the same as the low to mid D-I’s.
“Look at our RPI. I would put ours up with Tulsa. I would put us ahead of ORU. To me, I’m already at that level. I know Joe would hire me if I was at Tulsa, but I understand the public perception.”
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