The Kansas men’s basketball roster grew by one on Wednesday, when 6-foot-3 guard Wilder Evers, of Oak Mountain High in Alabama, announced his commitment to Kansas.
An honorable mention all-Birmingham selection this season by AL.com, Evers (pronounced Ee-vers) helped lead his school to a 2021 state championship and three consecutive appearances in the state semifinals.
He comes to KU as a walk-on and essentially will fill the spot on the roster that came open after popular walk-on Chris Teahan ran out of eligibility following KU’s run to the national title.
He is expected to join Michael Jankovich, Dillon Wilhite and Charlie McCarthy as KU’s walk-ons for the 2022-23 season.
Listed by Rivals.com as a point guard, Evers is a versatile player with the ability to score, set up teammates and get on the glass.
He figures to bring a good blend of size and smarts to the KU backcourt. According to a reply to his commitment announcement from the Oak Mountain High Twitter account — and likely his head coach, Chris Love — Evers has exactly what any coach looks for in a walk-on.
“Great young man who has worked his butt off to be given this opportunity,” the tweet began. “He was a great player for us but more importantly a great teammate. He was all about the team.”
In addition to thanking his friends, family and coaches for their support, Evers thanked KU coach Bill Self “for this amazing opportunity.”
JayhawkSlant.com’s Shay Wildeboor caught up with Evers on Wednesday and learned that his parents (Mike and Sandy Evers) both ran track at Kansas. Former KU All-American distance runner David Johnston also reached out to Evers and his mother, Sandy, on Twitter to express his excitement over his decision to join the KU program.
In addition, Evers’ older brother, Stone, is a freshman pitcher on the KU baseball team.
“Kansas has been in my blood all of my life,” Evers told Wildeboor. “And when Coach Self gave me this opportunity to play for the Jayhawks, I couldn’t pass it up.”
I’m super excited to announce my commitment to the University of Kansas where I’ll be continuing my academic and athletic career.
I especially want to thank @CoachBillSelf for this amazing opportunity!#ROCKCHALKJAYHAWK @KUHoops pic.twitter.com/efYNK8RFpX— wilder evers (@EversWilder) April 13, 2022