INDIANAPOLIS — The window to compete as a professional athlete does not open at all for most people. And even for those who do make it to the top, it can be fleeting.
Kyle Guy and Chris Evans graduated from high school in 2016. They were stars in their respective sports. Guy won Mr. Basketball and honored as a McDonald’s All American out of Lawrence Central; Evans an electrifying running back at Ben Davis, won a state championship as a junior.
Neither were considered a sure thing at the professional level in their respective sports, despite impressive collegiate accolades. Guy, after winning a national championship as a senior at Virginia and earning third-team All-American honors, was selected in the second round (55th overall pick) by the Sacramento Kings in the 2019 NBA draft. Evans, after showing off his versatility in four seasons at Michigan with 1,795 rushing yards and 49 catches for 479 yards, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Both made it to the highest level. For Guy, it was 53 NBA games with the Kings and Miami Heat from 2019 to 2022, then on to Spain, where he has played professionally the past two seasons. Evans, in three seasons in Cincinnati, has played in 34 games as a backup running back and kickoff returner.
Guy and Evans are both 26 years old, entering their athletic prime. That fire still burns for both.
“I think everyone’s goal is to play in the NBA,” Guy said. “I know I’m good enough to play in the NBA and I felt like I proved that. I felt like maybe the NBA closed the door on me for now. We’ll see. I’m very at peace with my career. I’ve been lucky enough to make good money and play in Sacramento, Miami, Barcelona, Athens and Tenerife (the most populous of the Canary Islands). It’s hard to beat those places. Basketball has done me good so I’m not hung up on, ‘I have to get to the NBA.’ I know I’m good enough. If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll be in a good spot.”
Evans is in a battle for playing time at running back for the Bengals with former Colt Zack Moss, Chase Brown and Trayveon Williams on the roster. But the departure of Joe Mixon, a 1,000-yard rusher last year for the Bengals, opens the door for more chances. The hybrid kickoff rule, voted through by the NFL competition committee in March, will prompt more action in the return game, a benefit for a player like Evans.
“At training camp, I’m going to try to take advantage of every opportunity I can get and be ready to roll," Evans said. "I’m blessed to be where I am. I want to play as long as I can. As long as my knees can take it.”
Though they play different sports (Guy is a massive Bengals’ fan), Guy and Evans are intertwined by more than their age and graduating year. They are both wired to see the big picture. They are creators, visionaries and heavily involved in their communities. They walk the walk.
Guy has a camp (the KG Elite 24), a golf outing, the Dizzy Runs Pro-Am featuring former and current professional and college players. He sponsors an AAU program, Kyle Guy Elite. Not to mention he is raising two kids, Chance (2) and Jones (two months), with his wife, Alexa.
“As my mom would tell you, I’m an overly social person,” Guy said. “I love social events. I love creating things and giving back. You put those three things together and what do you get? You get my camp, you get my golf outing, you get the pro-am. That’s just who I am and how I was raised. I’m from a big family. My grandparents are educators, my mom’s a nurse. Helping is what we do and I very much enjoy it. Putting on (the Dizzy Runs) is more important to me than playing in it to me.”
Like Guy, sports helped open the door for Evans. But he has never been the type to be content just playing the sport. He started coaching his younger brother Andrew’s 7-on-7 team even before he graduated from Ben Davis, then started coaching his freshman year in college at Michigan. His “IndyWeOutHere” program has been around for seven years now and sponsors a team in Guy’s Dizzy Runs Pro-Am.
“I love giving back to the community, man,” Evans said. “It’s what the city needs. When I was younger, I didn’t really have anybody giving back to the community like that. I just want to take advantage of the opportunity and show them there is a way out. That’s what ‘IndyWeOutHere’ is for — showing the kids we’re out here. Kyle’s out here, I’m out here. We’re all out here trying to make an impact so you can do it too when you get older. You can volunteer, you can do whatever you want. It’s really my life outside of football.”
Evans borrowed Guy’s camp idea (he selects 24 high school seniors for his elite camp) and applied it to football — his CE25 Elite Camp in June brought 25 top senior running backs from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana to Cincinnati for physical and mental training. “Passing the baton,” is how Evans describes his interest in mentoring young athletes.
“My goal is to come back and try to get the BD coaching job someday,” he said. “I want to be the head coach here. I would say I don’t know when it’s going to come, but that’s my goal.”
Evans was able to make it back to watch his brother Andrew play linebacker last season for Ben Davis. In the semistate vs. Center Grove, almost nine years to the date after Chris made a game-breaking run up the right sideline in a 49-45 win over the same opponent, Andrew (also wearing No. 12), intercepted a pass and ran up the same sideline in a 37-34 overtime win.
The only difference was Chris’ NFL speed got him to the end zone. Andrew got shoved out of bounds before he got there.
“Gotta finish,” Chris said with a laugh. “But they won the state championship so that’s really cool. I got to watch him on TV and come to the IMG game in person. It’s pretty cool how it all that came out. I’m happy he won his senior year, too.”
While Evans knows his immediate future is Bengals training camp in two weeks, Guy is not so certain. Playing in Spain the past two years has been rewarding but also tough with a young family that has grown to four. Guy was able to make it home for the last week of May this year, which he said “made it lightyears better.” His son Jones was born this spring.
“When I was 10 years old, I hated my name for some reason and really liked Fred Jones,” Guy said. “I said, ‘Call me Jones.’ That went on for like a year. So we named him Jones and I call him ‘Junior.’ They are my everything. I really enjoy being a dad so much it doesn’t even make sense. Even when you are holding them and they are crying all night, it’s awesome. I very much enjoy the mentor aspect of that and raising somebody to impact society.”
Don’t be surprised to see Guy on the sideline someday, too. Not that his playing days are over. He is too talented and has too much in the tank to stop playing. It is just about finding the right situation.
“I have leverage because I’m not yearning to go overseas and I’m not yearning to go the NBA,” he said. “We’ll see whatever the perfect situation is for me and the fam and we’ll make that happen.”
Beyond that, Guy plans to “keep dabbling in everything.” He likes the current set-up of his Dizzy Runs Pro-Am, which is bouncing around to different locations this summer (Lawrence Central, Mt. Vernon, Ben Davis the first three weeks and Tech on Tuesday). Admission is free. At Mt. Vernon, bracelets and t-shirts were sold to help raise money for Mt. Vernon student and soccer player Shawn Houser, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident in June.
Guy likes the idea of a barnstorming style around the state where there is a tie to the host school.
“This is the model I really want to do,” Guy said. “I think we’re going to try to do Kokomo next year and bring Flory (Bidunga) back. The goal in four or five years is we’re going to Kokomo, New Castle, Seymour. We’re going to the holy grails. All of them are holy grails, honestly. But for now, we’re staying around 465 and giving everybody an opportunity. If there’s a way we can help anyone in need, whether it’s school, they need money for the robotics team, can’t afford jerseys, whatever it is, we can help raise money for that, too.”
The basketball is fun, too. Evans came last week not only to watch his team but former Ben Davis star and current Cleveland Browns’ offensive lineman Dawand Jones. Guy enjoys playing but also watching former opponents like Joey Brunk, Jordan Walker and Kobe Webster. Last week, Butler’s Pierre Brooks put on a show.
“I love watching the high school and college guys,” Guy said. “I only select a few of those if we feel they are ready or needed. We took (Ben Davis senior) Tavion Williams (last week). We worked him out before. He’s probably not going to play great and he’s going to get fouled and they aren’t going to call it. But it’s good for him. Hopefully he can learn something and take it into next season. It’s another way to help them.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
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