by Alan Babbitt
Hope College guard Evan Thomas has been selected to the Top 50 watch list for the 2022 Bevo Francis Award.
The junior from Okemos, Michigan (Okemos HS) also is representing the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Thomas is the MIAA's leading scorer in conference play at 21.6 points per game and second-leading rebounder at 9.3.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
On Tuesday, March 15, the list will be reduced to the Top 25 players. On Saturday, April 2, the finalists of this year's award will be announced. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 4.
The Bevo Francis Awards Committee consists of the following coaches: Tobin Anderson - St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), Gary Stewart - Stevenson (Md.), Chris Briggs - Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen - Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Ryan Kane - Ripon (Wisc.), Mark Berokoff – Oklahoma City, Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Rhett Soliday – Vanguard (Calif.), Sam Hargraves – Olivet (Mich.), Stacy Hollowell – Loyola (La.), Stephen Brennan – Babson, Richard Westerlund – Great Lakes Christian, Chase Tiechmann – Florida College, Bart Lundy – Queens (N.C.), Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa (Kan.), Tae Norwood – Humboldt State, Justin Parnell – Oregon Tech, Mark Vanderslice – USC - Aiken, and Grant Leep – Seattle Pacific.
Bevo Francis played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54. He averaged 50.1 points per game in his first season and helped Rio Grande to a 39-0 record.
