Kyan Evans Talks Changed Mindset in North Carolina's Win

The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Florida State Seminoles 79-66 on Tuesday night at the Dean E. Smith Center. It was an impressive start to conference play for the Tar Heels, who had an extended break heading into the ACC opener against a reeling Seminoles' team.

One of the main reasons the Tar Heels were able to come out on top in this contest was Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, who came out with an aggressive mindset. In the first half, Evans went 3-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range.

Dec 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis talks with guard Kyan Evans (0) during the first half against the East Carolina Pirates at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

That willingness to shoot the ball extended into the second half, as the 6-foot-2, 174-pound guard finished the game with 15 points while shooting 5-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-12 from three-point range.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, Evans discussed the key to winning the game on Tuesday night.

Evans' Thoughts

Dec 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) brings the ball up court against the East Carolina Pirates during the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

"We knew what they were going to do, and they're going to come in and play hard, and they were wanting to get a lot of threes up, and we wanted to hold them to as few as possible," Evans said.

Obviously, this game possessed more juice and importance, being the opening conference game of the season, as both teams wanted to build off what they had accomplished in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Evans explained how the ACC is going to be vastly different this season than recent years.

"We talked about that ACC play is going to be a lot different for us, and we want to come out and get a win, and that's what we did," Evans said.

After defeating the East Carolina Pirates last week, the Tar Heels had over a week to spend time with family during the holidays and separate themselves from basketball for a while. Evans used that time to self-reflect on his season, which had lived up to his expectations in the first two months. Evans explained how he utilized the time off.

Dec 16, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) celebrates during the second half against the ETSU Buccaneers at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

"I just kind of went home, took a look in the mirror, honestly, and just kind of came back with a different mindset," Evans said.

This was Evans' best performance in over a month. In the previous seven outing, he averaged 3.4 points per game. As mentioned, Evans scored 15 points while attempting a dozen threes. Here is what he said about his performance.

"I think I wasn't aggressive just on both ends of the court, and I want to change for the team and for my guys," Evans said.

Evans will look to replicate this production on the road against the SMU Mustangs on Jan. 3.

wilso — Dec 30, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) scores in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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