Evan Gilyard is ready to make a big impact on UTEP basketball

The UTEP men’s basketball team is getting a head start on filling their vacant point guard position as Dominic Artis is moving on after finishing his senior season.

Evan Gilyard is a 5-foot-10-inch, 160-pound, incoming point guard from Chicago, Illinois, who will be competing for the starting point guard job this upcoming season.

As a shorter player, Gilyard models his game after breakout Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas, who was named to this season’s All-NBA second team.

“I mean, we’re around the same height,” Gilyard said. “You know, we play with the same tenacity. It’s the same thing on defense. We score a lot. I mean, I just love the way Isaiah Thomas plays.”

Gilyard, a self-proclaimed “gym rat,” showed up just a few days ago, but he is already putting up shots and working at the UTEP practice gym.

Gilyard attended Simeon Career Academy, the school that also saw former NCAA stars and current NBA players Jabari Parker and 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose.

In Gilyard’s senior season he led Simeon Career Academy and took the team to a record-breaking 29-4 season.

Along with the great record, he won first team All-State and All-City honors while averaging 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steal in his final season.

Along with these season averages, Gilyard had a triple-double against Edwardsville High School in which he scored 32 points to go along with 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He also managed to have two 32-point games during the season.

Gilyard knows how to win as he had a 125-11 record in his four seasons in high school.