Souderton’s Slone selects Arcadia to continue career

For most of Evan Slone’s life he just played basketball for the love of the game, never really thinking he could play at any level past high school. Then, in the summer between his sophomore and junior years at Souderton, something clicked.

“The summer going into my junior year is when I really started seeing myself becoming a good player and being a college basketball player seemed like a real possibility to me,’ said Slone.

“It was a huge jump, sophomore year I was just starting on JV, then junior year I’m starting on varsity. I’d say that summer was probably the hardest I’ve ever worked up to that point in my life. It was day in and day out just basketball because I wanted to be a really good player; I knew I had all this potential and I just wanted to live up to it.’

This year Slone has seen all that hard work pay off, as he has accepted an offer to play basketball next season for Coach Justin Scott at Arcadia University.

The Souderton senior standout, who described himself as an “uncoordinated’ freshman, was anything but that as he averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Indians this past year.

Slone wasn’t the only person that noticed the huge jump in his ability. Souderton head coach Pete Chimera has also been amazed at how he’s grown as a player going from a forward with raw size to a polished skill player.

“From his sophomore year to his senior year, the skill level he’s worked on and improved is unbelievable,’ said Chimera. “I wasn’t there when he was a freshman but apparently he was close to being cut. Not because he didn’t work hard or anything like that but because his skills just weren’t there but he has just worked on them relentlessly and improved them dramatically.’

Slone, who plans to major in business, was also considering Lebanon Valley, Immaculata, Marywood, DeSales, and Eastern but in the end said that everything just felt right when he visited Arcadia.

“When I did my overnight visit it was just a great fit for me,’ said Slone. “I really liked the guys, I really liked the coach and I was able to sit in on a marketing class that I enjoyed and it’s only about 30-45 minutes from my house so that’s nice.’

For a while, even though Slone was getting offers from colleges, he wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to attend school.

His goal was to play at the next level but he just wasn’t sure if any of the schools he was getting interest from were an option for him financially. Luckily, when he saw the financial aid package from Arcadia he knew he was on his way to becoming a Knight.

“I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to make it work with Arcadia,” Slone said. “But I ended up getting a really good financial aid package and once they got me that I decided to do the overnight and that fit was great.’

As a player, Slone is known for his hustle and fearlessness on the court.

The first team all SOL Continental selection led his team to a District 1-AAAA playoff berth this past season, but unfortunately they fell to Phoenixville, even behind 17 points from Slone.

Perhaps most impressive about him is the multitude of ways he can beat you. The 6’6′ forward can do it all from shooting, to ball handling, to defending.

“He’s just absolutely relentless. He never stops moving and never stops going after the ball,’ said Chimera.

“He can step out and shoot a three in your face, he can go by you, and he’s so long and gets his hand on so many things. The best example of his hard work is he had one game this year where he took five charges and he was getting hit pretty good on them and he just kept coming.’

His on-court achievements are impressive but perhaps the most impressive thing about Slone is what’s said about him off the court.

His leadership off the hardwood, as well as his willingness to help with the program even after finishing his senior year, are just two instances where you start to see that Arcadia isn’t just getting a fantastic basketball player, but also a great young man.

“He’s just a great kid all around,’ said Chimera. “He’s totally respectful, totally buys into what we’re trying to do, and even though the season has ended I see him at open gyms and he’s asking me ‘ do you need me to do anything? Do you need me to talk to any of the underclassmen?’ and I’ve been able to use him that way so he is really just a tremendous kid.’

With everything he has going for him in basketball and otherwise, it’s easy to see why there were so many local schools after him, and easy to see how lucky Arcadia is to have landed him.