Zalgiris Kaunas has a bona fide star in Keenan Evans, who is enjoying a fruitful second year at the Lithuanian club. His performances are all the more impressive given that his debut campaign at Zalgirio Arena in 2022-23, which saw him play at an All-EuroLeague level in the first half of the season, was brought to a premature end following an Achilles injury he suffered in Round 17.
"You blame yourself, you know: 'Did I work hard enough? Did I not do some recovery things that I should have done?'" Evans says. "But at the end of the day, your season's over and you have to accept it."
For Evans, there stood a long, dark road that was expected to last nine months as he looked to make a full recovery. The Zalgiris guard knew it would be a tough test, but he also tried to take it with the most positive mindset possible.
"It's tough. It's bad days, it's long days... But there's also good days," Evans remembers. "For me, my thought process was: 'I want to have more good days than bad days.'"
After a lengthy recovery process, Evans returned to EuroLeague action with Zalgiris, ready for 2023-24 and not only he has been a key piece in the team this season but he is also playing the best basketball of his career.
Evans is averaging 13.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in over 27 minutes on the court as a starter in all 27 games this season. He has quickly become one of the favorite players of the always-demanding Zalgiris fans.
"We understand how much you mean to people here," Evans explains. "When they express their gratitude, and how much they appreciate you, it's such a heart-warming type of thing."
As the season faces the final stretch before the playoffs, Zalgiris will be leaning heavily on Evans as it looks to make a strong push for the postseason.