The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 ■ 37 "Hell, no," Evtimov said. "No way." Maybe things were different then. There's no doubt that the best way for the youngest Evtimov to be noticed and improve was to have his lunch in America, getting into the high school recruiting scene and playing against top-notch talent. "I've talked about it with my parents through the years, and it was a no-brainer," he said. "As a parent now, though, I don't think I could do it." Evtimov and his family — which includes his wife, son and three daughters — live in his hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria, though it's always been true that none of the Evtimovs have ever been pinned to a specific location. That's why his passport is filled with entry stamps, why he speaks four international languages and why he's always looking for his next place to call home. For the moment, Evtimov is thinking of returning to Raleigh for a basketball-related business venture. He's ready to settle down, find the right schools for his kids and maybe for the first time in his life let his roots grow deep. "I can see myself grow old here and raise my kids here," he said during a November visit to Raleigh in which he watched the Wolfpack play at PNC Arena. "I don't see myself moving constantly anymore." A Decorated Professional Career Now 38, Evtimov didn't play professional basketball quite as long as his father, finish- ing about a dozen years short of that total. He retired two years ago after a pair of sea- sons with a second-tier professional team in France, flushing his final desire to play the game out of his system after more than a decade of playing with top-tier teams in Europe. That he was able to play that long, given the major knee injury he suffered after his freshman season at NC State, is probably a miracle. Just after his NC State career ended in 2006, Evtimov signed to play in Spain, then spent two years playing in Bologna, Italy (2006-07). He played in Frankfort, Germany (2007-09); his hometown of So- fia, Bulgaria (2009); and on the island of Cyprus (2009-10). From 2010-16, Evtimov played for Elan Chalon, a franchise in the top-tier French professional league. He twice led the team to French Basketball Cup titles and, in 2011-12, he was named the inaugural win- ner of the French Basketball Cup MVP, given to the tournament's top player. The following year, North Carolina's Sean May won the same award. Not surprisingly for those who remem- ber Evtimov's skills with the Wolfpack, he was a deadly three-point shooter, a pinpoint passer and an accurate free-throw shooter, the things that made teammate Julius Hodge tease Evtimov for having an "old man game." He made 559 long-distance shots and had 492 assists, while averaging 9.0 points and 3.2 rebounds a game, and shooting 83.7 percent from the foul line. "Those are the things I made my brand on my entire career," he said with a spark of pride for forever being NC State's King of the Backdoor Pass. He ranks among the top 10 on the French League's all-time career three-pointer list, a remarkable feat considering he played just eight seasons in the league and every- one ranked above him played more seasons and more games than he did. After seven seasons with Elan Chalon, he signed with Cholet Basket, serving as a teaching veteran and team captain with the idea that it would be the final chapter of his playing career and a good segue into coaching. "I closed the chapter on playing basket- ball," he said. "I gave it all I had." Some are still surprised Evtimov over- came the knee injury he suffered as a fresh- man to become a key component for the Wolfpack. "There were times when we wondered if he would be able to finish his NC State career, let alone play as long as he did pro- fessionally," noted former Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "His knees were a real challenge for him." Evtimov, who had reconstructive surgery on his left knee following his freshman season, never had another procedure on his rebuilt knee, though he did have a couple of cortisone injections and took some pain medication through the years. By the time he was 36, though, he knew it was time to call it quits and find a new job. "My knees held up pretty good," Evti- mov said. "When I see some of my thera- pists in Bulgaria, when they look at my knees, they wonder how I was able to play at the age I did. I did not have full exten- sion or flex. One of my legs was like a robot. "At the end of the day, my game was to shoot and pass the ball, and I got away with it." Before his final playing season, he came back to North Carolina looking for some college coaching opportunities, but at 35 with an undergraduate degree in commu- nications and a master's degree in parks, recreation and tourism, he wasn't particu- larly eager to take a graduate assistant role. So he's pursuing other possibilities, us- ing the means he put away during his play- ing days and the real estate investments he made in Winston-Salem on the advice of " When I see some of my therapists in Bulgaria, when they look at my knees, they wonder how I was able to play at the age I did. I did not have full extension or flex. One of my legs was like a robot. At the end of the day, my game was to shoot and pass the ball, and I got away with it. " Evtimov ILIAN EVTIMOV MEN'S BASKETBALL (2001-06) Age: 38 Living: Sofia, Bulgaria Occupation: Retired professional basketball player Did You Know? Evtimov, a relatively unknown addition to coach Herb Sendek's most important recruiting class, was not named to the 2001 ACC All-Freshman team because too many voters in- correctly spelled his name.