TA: 'Lil Gai' has grown as a player
Feb 13, 2008 7:16:33 GMT -5
Post by Raider Country on Feb 13, 2008 7:16:33 GMT -5
Tom Archdeacon: 'Lil Gai' has grown as a player
By Tom Archdeacon
Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What's in a name?
In the case of N'Gai Evans — the suddenly emerging Wright State freshman guard from North Canton — it's the signature of his status.
"Baby Gai — that's what I've always called him," admitted Vanzetta Howard, Evans' grandmother, who has relocated to Southwest Ohio to make sure he has a familial following in the Nutter Center stands at Raiders' games. "Down here, we're trying to get away from saying Baby Gai, but sometimes it just slips out."
How could it not? That's the name the family has used to distinguish him from his dad, N'Gai Sr.
"Back in the '70s, when I was pregnant with (N'Gai Sr.), a lot of folks were looking to give their kids Swahili names," Vanzetta said. "We had a friend who lived in Liberia, and she said, 'There's an African prince named N'Gai, how 'bout that?' "
So her son got the princely name — it sounds like Na-Guy — but it's her grandson who's received the royal treatment.
"That boy brings so much joy to my heart, especially on that basketball court," said Vanetta — called Grammy by her grandson. A retired evangelical minister, she moved from Canton to Mason — she has two daughters and a son in the Cincinnati area — just as N'Gai was settling in at Wright State.
When he joined the Raiders — as a thin 147-pounder, nearly 30 pounds lighter than any teammate — his name changed.
"We call him Lil Gai," said WSU administrative assistant Lucas McKay.
While Evan's size may have scared off other Division I schools — WSU was the only one to recruit him out of Hoover High and did so only after guard Eric Stevenson got homesick last spring and left — the Raiders immediately pushed him to get bigger.
Thanks to the weight room and diet, he's gained 16 pounds. It took a little longer for his court presence to grow. He broke his hand in October, and that slowed his development. He didn't play in the first 10 games, and asked WSU coach Brad Brownell about redshirting.
Short on healthy bodies — several WSU players have been sidelined by injury, and guard John David Gardner is now out with a broken foot — Evans was told he was needed.
"I told him if he didn't want to waste a season, he needed to step up," Brownell said. "I think that gave him a sense of urgency."
Two weeks ago, Evans came off the bench against Wisconsin-Green Bay and scored 11 points in 12 minutes to spur a four-point WSU victory. Nine days ago, he scored eight against Presbyterian.
Last Saturday at Youngstown State, he was sent into the game with 35 seconds left and made two key defensive plays that enabled the Raiders to win by three, their eighth straight victory.
So now the 17-6 Raiders are witnessing something Evans' family has known all along.
"Back when Baby Gai was only 2, his dad got him one of those baskets with the adjustable rim," said Kim Taylor, N'Gai's aunt and Vanetta's sidekick at WSU games.
"N'Gai would cry, and I used to fuss at his dad for making the rim too high. But his dad said, 'He'll learn to overcome. No matter how high the bar is set in his life, he's gonna find a way.' "
Now that he's doing that again will his name finally become Big Gai?
Don't look for that from Grammy and Aunt Kim when the Raiders host Loyola on Thursday night.
"It's Valentine's Day, and I'm getting us shirts that'll say something like, 'Gai is our love and so is basketball,'" Kim said. "That's our valentine to him. He's still our baby."
www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2008/02/12/ddn021308arch.html
By Tom Archdeacon
Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What's in a name?
In the case of N'Gai Evans — the suddenly emerging Wright State freshman guard from North Canton — it's the signature of his status.
"Baby Gai — that's what I've always called him," admitted Vanzetta Howard, Evans' grandmother, who has relocated to Southwest Ohio to make sure he has a familial following in the Nutter Center stands at Raiders' games. "Down here, we're trying to get away from saying Baby Gai, but sometimes it just slips out."
How could it not? That's the name the family has used to distinguish him from his dad, N'Gai Sr.
"Back in the '70s, when I was pregnant with (N'Gai Sr.), a lot of folks were looking to give their kids Swahili names," Vanzetta said. "We had a friend who lived in Liberia, and she said, 'There's an African prince named N'Gai, how 'bout that?' "
So her son got the princely name — it sounds like Na-Guy — but it's her grandson who's received the royal treatment.
"That boy brings so much joy to my heart, especially on that basketball court," said Vanetta — called Grammy by her grandson. A retired evangelical minister, she moved from Canton to Mason — she has two daughters and a son in the Cincinnati area — just as N'Gai was settling in at Wright State.
When he joined the Raiders — as a thin 147-pounder, nearly 30 pounds lighter than any teammate — his name changed.
"We call him Lil Gai," said WSU administrative assistant Lucas McKay.
While Evan's size may have scared off other Division I schools — WSU was the only one to recruit him out of Hoover High and did so only after guard Eric Stevenson got homesick last spring and left — the Raiders immediately pushed him to get bigger.
Thanks to the weight room and diet, he's gained 16 pounds. It took a little longer for his court presence to grow. He broke his hand in October, and that slowed his development. He didn't play in the first 10 games, and asked WSU coach Brad Brownell about redshirting.
Short on healthy bodies — several WSU players have been sidelined by injury, and guard John David Gardner is now out with a broken foot — Evans was told he was needed.
"I told him if he didn't want to waste a season, he needed to step up," Brownell said. "I think that gave him a sense of urgency."
Two weeks ago, Evans came off the bench against Wisconsin-Green Bay and scored 11 points in 12 minutes to spur a four-point WSU victory. Nine days ago, he scored eight against Presbyterian.
Last Saturday at Youngstown State, he was sent into the game with 35 seconds left and made two key defensive plays that enabled the Raiders to win by three, their eighth straight victory.
So now the 17-6 Raiders are witnessing something Evans' family has known all along.
"Back when Baby Gai was only 2, his dad got him one of those baskets with the adjustable rim," said Kim Taylor, N'Gai's aunt and Vanetta's sidekick at WSU games.
"N'Gai would cry, and I used to fuss at his dad for making the rim too high. But his dad said, 'He'll learn to overcome. No matter how high the bar is set in his life, he's gonna find a way.' "
Now that he's doing that again will his name finally become Big Gai?
Don't look for that from Grammy and Aunt Kim when the Raiders host Loyola on Thursday night.
"It's Valentine's Day, and I'm getting us shirts that'll say something like, 'Gai is our love and so is basketball,'" Kim said. "That's our valentine to him. He's still our baby."
www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2008/02/12/ddn021308arch.html