SENECA -- Cornfields dominate the landscape driving into Seneca, a John Mellencamp-type of small town where high school basketball warms the clientele during the winter months and a young man like Seth Evans inspires the imagination of little boys wearing green and gold.
A 6-foot senior point guard, Evans grew up idolizing former Irish scoring threats Graham Chapman and Adam Provance. Evans' father, Doug, has guided Seneca to nine regional titles since 1975 as the head coach, including a second-place Class A finish in 1991, third in 2005 and an undefeated state title in 2006.
That year, Evans promoted his son to the varsity as a freshman to be a defensive stopper. Three years later, Seth Evans enters his senior season as a two-time second team all-state selection and with an NCAA Division I scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay -- history on his side and back.
This is his team.
This is his town.
"Not many people know about Seneca," Evans said. "It's a small school, a small town, and a lot of people didn't know about me because I come from a small school. But we have a basketball tradition here at Seneca and we expect to win, and if we don't, well, it's not the best thing."
The best of the classic movie "Hoosiers" is alive and well in Seneca for the 2008-2009 boys basketball season with Evans, who shoots as accurately as the Jimmy Chitwood character, passes as deftly as New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul and leads like a four-star general.
As a junior, Evans averaged 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3.5 steals in earning Herald News first team all-area recognition. He set a single-season school record with 107 steals, tops the school's all-time chart for steals and already ranks second in assists and fifth in scoring.
And besides being a two-time all-conference choice by the Interstate Eight and a two-time MVP of the Plano Christmas Tournament, Evans personifies the example of his Irish legacy.
"He has lived it, he has breathed it, he has watched it," Doug Evans said of his son. "So he knows the system and he has followed in the footsteps of some of the great guards who have gone through here, and he knows the teamwork, the leadership and the sacrifice that's going to help us a lot this year."
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Back in 1991, Mark Aubry averaged an astounding 26-plus points as state runnerup Seneca closed with a 27-5 record. Seth Evans' situation resonated as the newborn baby in a cradle, but by 2005, a 33-1 record and a third-place effort by the Irish, the scenery evolved for the heir apparent.
Then in 2006, Seneca completed a 35-0 run with a 47-44 victory over Chillicothe IVC for the Class A state title. Evans entered the quarterfinals with a 5.4 scoring average to go with 3 assists and 2 rebounds, surrounded by three seniors and a junior in the Irish's starting lineup.
From a freshman complementing the Callahan brothers to a junior receiving all the compliments, Evans emerged likewise in his role, learning to stand out in the crowd and accept a certain tag he could not avoid.
He is his father's son.
"I don't think too much about it anymore," Seth said. "I'm so used to it by now. It will be a little different after this year, not playing for him, and he's going to turn into a fan instead of a coach. I know I get more of it when I go home than most kids would get, and I have to hear it twice instead of once like my teammates do."
"He handles it well -- they both handle it well," said Sam Hoster, a 6-3 senior post and Seth's best friend. "It's obviously a little added pressure because you always want to try and do good for your dad, and sometimes you have to go home to it, too. If you have a bad practice ..."
Bad practices in Seneca are about as rare as a teetotaler on St. Patrick's Day. Seth has experienced the parade first-hand, playing on the unbeaten state champions as well for the Irish in a 65-game winning streak from Feb. 8, 2005 to Jan. 29, 2007, the second-longest in Illinois history.
"It's just how fast that time goes by," Doug Evans said. "It gets you to reflect back a lot, just how fast time has gone from his freshman year to now, and we talk to the seniors all the time about how fast those four years will go. It really makes you reflect back on the players and those teams and the seasons.
"Seth was very fortunate to come in at a real peak time for Seneca basketball, to play on the undefeated team, a state champ and winning 65 games in a row. What a thrill for him and for me, to be able to watch it and to be on the inside of it all as a dad, too. It was pretty special for us."
Senior starters were the specialty in 2006, with Griffin Callahan, Robert Rexroade and Marty Hetelle mentoring Evans.
"I know it helps a lot, just to be a part of a team like that, and I'm going to be a part of a team that was young last year and now a lot of us are seniors," Seth said. "I know they look up to me and it makes it that much easier because I know how the seniors treated me when I was young."
Once the young gunner, Evans' multi-tiered game has become a statistician's dream, with the letter "C" eventually blooming into the equation for effect.
He is his father's captain.
"Seth is the best player I have ever seen," Hoster said. "He's a really good player, but he's also a good teammate. Obviously, he helps all of us in our game, and I got brought up my sophomore year. I didn't know that many of the older guys, so he was always there for me. He elevates everybody's game, pushes us in practice, make us better all-around players and he's a great leader."
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Stanford, Indiana and Oregon State represented the major colleges chasing Seth Evans. The mid-majors featured the likes of Western Michigan, UIC, Xavier and Illinois State, with Southern Illinois, Western Illinois, North Dakota State and South Dakota State squeezing into the swarm.
Known as a hard-nosed, smart playmaker who shot 53.8 percent from the floor, 80.6 percent from the free-throw line and 42.9 percent from 3-point range as a junior with an equal eye on his defense and his play away from the ball, Seth handled the recruiting surge with an understanding.
This is his year.
This is his time.
"It's nice to finally stop all the wondering about where I'm going to go," Evans said. "It's nice to get the decision out of the way, and I'm real excited about being able to play there next year and be a part of their team.
"I had offers from majors, I had offers from mid-majors, but at that time, it was more about my relationship with the coaching staff. I like the campus, and Green Bay was the very first team to offer me a scholarship. They noticed me first over majors and mid-major colleges, but what was most important was my relationship with the coaches."
Understandable, the coach's son needing to relate to future coach Tom Kowalczyk. Evans, however, holds that extra bond.
"He gets us involved, especially early," Hoster said. "He likes to get us involved and that takes the pressure off of him, but he's a very good passer and a great scorer. It's very hard for the defenses to adjust. If it's not his night scoring, he knows how to get the ball to everybody else."
"I'm a pass-first point guard," Evans said. "I've always enjoyed passing the ball, making that cool assist, but I can shoot from whatever range you want me to shoot from. Quickness and smarts have pretty much gotten me here -- and hard work."
Hard work has been the staple of small town Americana. With Seth Evans behind Seneca's wheel, expect a dose of tradition.
"It's all about the heart," he said. "We want to put it out there on the court because not only do our fans deserve that, but the people and the players who have been a part of this in the past."
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