By Salem Burdett
Bright gymnasium lights illuminate the polished wood, and players in deep purple jerseys sprint around the court. The sports photographer sits among the crowd, hurrying to capture the action. Snap, snap, snap. Players dash from side to side, and the gameboard sounds. In one moment, one player captures the attention of the crowd. Standing at 6’4, Player 24, Sydney Evans defends the court as if her life depends on it. The gameboard dings out once more, and she’s back in action.
Agnes Scott Junior Sydney Evans is a studio art major who spends most of her time playing defense on the court. She is number two in blocks in the conference and fifth in assists. This season, we saw her in action in 21 games, scoring 94 points. A John F Kennedy High School graduate, she secured the Scholar-Athlete Award for the Maryland Athletic Association from 2020-2021. Moving from her hometown in Maryland to Decatur, Sydney has continued to pursue her passion for Basketball. The Scottie basketball team is indeed a small one, a fact that drew Sydney in. “I want to be more than just a number.” And she certainly is; with the team only having nine playable people this current season, she has more opportunities than she thought possible. With insufficient players to practice in a scrimmage, Coach Kyle Erha says the team values quality over quantity. “They (the players) have the opportunity to be challenged and step into roles they didn’t know they could. That’s my favorite part, watching people do things they didn’t even think were possible.”
However, with new opportunities come newfound hardships. Because the team has the opportunity and disadvantage of being small, they must constantly test themselves and their limits. Sydney’s limits are exposed by her height. “Too often, she plays smaller than her size, but when she plays to her size, she can affect the game more than anyone,” Coach Erha says. With such immense potential comes great responsibility. When I sat before the student-athlete, she revealed how her height affects her. “Because I’m tall, they expect me to do everything, but sometimes it doesn’t come that easy. I feel like if I were a guy, it wouldn’t be as much pressure.” Sydney gives an example of people asking her if she can dunk, to which she responds, “No, I have bad knees.”
Both Sydney and Coach Erha repeated the expression, “You can’t teach size, but you can teach someone to play big.” This is something that both have noted as something Sydney must learn to excel in Basketball further. Sydney’s goal this semester is to be first in blocks and assists, which is not far out of reach. In just one game, she was able to score a total of 23 points and 13 rebounds. Another struggle Sydney faces in the game is being present and playing present. “I can get into my own head really easily.” Coach Erha backed up Sydney’s statement by saying that if the team misses one shot, they all feel like they missed every shot. Sydney noted that Coach Erha tells them constantly, “You play together or not at all” because when every player is present and plays as a team versus individually, they can do more. Sydney said this is how she defines her success within Basketball, not within stats or game results, but within chemistry with her teammates and how they affect a game together. Coach Erha confirmed this sentiment by saying, “What we do is bigger than basketball.”
The Agnes Scott Basketball team is more than their stats, just as Sydney Evans is more than a basketball player. As an avid music lover, she plays violin, viola, and tuba. Additionally, Sydney is known to be a humorous and compassionate person. “She’s really funny,” Coach Erha says, “so goofy, and she just has this loud big laugh. There’s never a day I’m not laughing at Sydney. Her contributions are on and off the court.”
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