Springlake-Earth’s Evan DeLeon, will be continuing his basketball career at Spurgeon College in Kansas City, MO, after he signed his letter of intent last week on a visit to the campus.
“It feels great knowing that my basketball career is not over yet,” DeLeon said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life and I’m just so very thankful and blessed to have this opportunity.”
DeLeon talked about when he knew he wanted to play college sports, saying, “Ever since I was little I knew I wanted to play college sports because I had my older sister and brother both compete at the college level. Seeing them compete always motivated me to do the same as them.”
During his senior campaign at Springlake-Earth, DeLeon averaged 18 points per game, seven assists and four rebounds. He also went off for 42 points in his final high school game in the Regional Quarterfinals against Texline. DeLeon said that the recruiting
DeLeon said that the recruiting process for him was “Long and hard.”
“It was very difficult to get my name out there,” he said. “But, I could say that having that 42- point game against Texline helped me out tremendously. Coach [Coby] Beckner at Texline made a few calls after that and he helped out a lot.”
DeLeon talked about his visit to see Spurgeon’s campus, saying, “The visit was great. The campus was very beautiful located right outside of downtown Kansas City. Coach Livezey is a great guy and a heck of a coach. Everyone was so nice and it just felt like I could make it my home.”
He talked about the moment Spurgeon reached out with an offer, saying, “ It meant a lot to me. I was so confused on what I was going to do about playing basketball at the next level. I didn’t really know what God had planned for me. When coach gave me a call we talked for 50 minutes and I was just so happy that he wanted me so bad.”
DeLeon reflected on getting this opportunity from Spurgeon, saying, “It shows me that all my hard work alone and long hours of being in the gym finally paid off. This is all I ever wanted and now I get this chance. I’m so grateful.”
DeLeon praised his high school Coach, CJ Castillo, saying, “Coach Castillo pushed me to be the best point guard I could possibly be and he has always supported me and my decisions.”
He added, “He is the one who has taught me the game since fifth grade and he has gotten me to the next level. I appreciate coach a lot.”
DeLeon stated that he is most looking forward to the competition at the next level.
“I want it to be so hard for me that I just become the best that I can become,” he explained. “Going into next season I’m expecting to prove myself to everyone. I will show people that I can hoop at any level.
The college freshman to-be talked about how he has seen himself grow both on and off the court.
“I have seen myself grow as a person by just surrounding myself with people who have the same dreams as me,” he explained. “Having friends that support me and my dreams has helped me on and off of the court.
DeLeon proceeded to talk about his family support, saying, “My parents are my biggest supporters. They were with me every step of the way and have supported me in all my decisions. Michael, my brother, probably pushed me the most though. He motivated me to be better than him and that has helped me a lot in my career.”
The former Wolverine talked about what it meant to him to don the Green and Gold, saying, “Springlake-Earth was great to me and I wouldn’t rather represent any other school.”
He added, “I got to leave my mark on the school and start the tradition of winning and that means a lot to me.”
While at Springlake-Earth, DeLeon was a multi-sport athlete, as he competed in cross country for two years and he played basketball, football, baseball and track for four years.
“All of the sports I played helped me out a lot on the basketball court,” DeLeon said.
The former Wolverine stated that his favorite basketball memory had to be his freshman year when they made it to the Regional Tournament.
“I can still say that making it there was the best time of my high-school career,” he said. “I loved the chemistry our team had and I wish I could go back.”
DeLeon intends to major in Kinesiology.