Evan Bunnell was never really a down-in-the-dirt guy until he got to Robbinsville High School and was coerced into joining the Agriculture Club with some of his basketball teammates. Bunnell lives on the east side of Route 130, where open space and farmland is prevalent.
“I had no background in agriculture or anything like that,” Bunnell said. “Last year we had a senior captain, Jack Slaven, who had a background on a farm. He’d bring me to practice every day and we’d pass the farms and he really got me into it.
“Some of the upperclassmen in the program and I started to think about the Agriculture Club. Recently we decided we wanted to pick things up. We’re considering a school garden, now we just have to get it by the administration.”
One thing is certain. If Bunnell can get that garden to grow in the same way he has gotten his game to grow, the Agriculture Club will have a veritable Longwood Gardens on its hands.
The Ravens junior has been one of the Colonial Valley Conference’s most improved players this year, and that’s not by accident.
“I love basketball,” Bunnell said. “I play all summer, I’m working all the time.”
And it shows.
Entering Robbinsville’s Feb. 20 state tournament game with Allentown, Bunnell was the team’s leading scorer with a 13.1 average, was second to Pat Kapp in rebounds (119) and second to Tyler Handy in 3-pointers (22) and assists (43).
Compare those numbers to a year ago and it’s easy to see the progress. As a sophomore, Bunnell averaged 6.5 points with 72 rebounds, 19 assists and just three 3-pointers. That last stat is telling, for it’s Bunnell’s ability to shoot the ball that has opened up other opportunities for him.
“Since his eighth grade year he’s just made big strides,” coach Conor Hayes said. “He’s always had great footwork, he added his attack to the basket last year, and this summer moving forward he added the outside shot. It’s been a huge game-changer for him.
“I feel he could throw it up even more. I keep trying to push him to, because he’s the most consistent guy when we’re on the shooting machine shooting threes. But he’s got that downhill, aggressive mentality. I don’t want to take that away from him either.”
Bunnell does enjoy going to the hoop. But as a student of the game – his father coached him and several Ravens teammates in the Robbinsville Travel League – Evan knew that man does not live by penetration alone.
“What I noticed last year is I could drive, I could play down low, but really it was limited to that,” Bunnell said. “I realized a few things I had to work on was getting my shot better, so I could pump fake, drive, and have more lanes. And working on my left hand, which I still have to improve a lot. But so far this season the jump shot has made my game a lot easier.”
In assessing how his J became more lethal, Bunnell feels it has been mental as much as physical.
“I’ve always practiced my shot but the biggest thing is confidence,” he said. “Last year I had a decent shot, and I ended the season with three 3-pointers. I was never confident in my jump shot. This year I just decided I’m gonna have to go in and think every shot’s going in the basket.”
Hayes noted that there were no major adjustments in the shot, but that Bunnell just massaged it a little at a time.
“From his freshman year to sophomore year he tweaked his shot a little bit,” the coach said. “This last off-season he tweaked it a little bit more, which just helped him become more consistent in his motion. You can tweak little things that help you be more consistent—so those adjustments to make his motion more consistent was a huge difference for him.”
That’s not to say Bunnell lost his desire to take it to the rack. With Robbinsville’s slick passing game and philosophy of getting everyone the ball, he often finds himself underneath on the receiving end of a pass from Handy or Luke Billings.
Other times, he will give a head fake as if ready to shoot. Because defenders must defend that, Evan gets them in the air and takes off for the basket.
The thing is, he doesn’t exactly look conventional in doing it.
“When he does attack the basket he has that really good inside footwork,” Hayes said. “So when he does dribble penetration and gets in and gets cut off, he can step one way or another to throw you off. Coaches are screaming for traveling. But you look at his feet, they’re both on the ground, it’s just unorthodox with his footwork and it’s really effective.”
Bunnell feels it lulls defenders to sleep sometimes.
“It could be beneficial for me because some people may not expect me to come and drive all the way to the basket and finish on top of that,” he said. “At the end of the day all that matters is the ball going through the hoop.”
Bunnell is symbolic of the Ravens program and how it has risen to prominence. His dad got him started in the game when he entered elementary school. He grew up as one of the big men in his league, shooting up to 6-foot-2. But suddenly, the growth stopped.
“I’ve been 6-2 for years so it’s been a process from thinking I’m gonna be a big man at 6-6 to going down to being a wing player,” he said with a laugh.
After travel ball Evan joined the AAU South Jersey Titans, which he credits for improving his game due to the tough competition they play. He is also a fan of RHS going to the Hamilton Park League in Jersey City each summer.
“That Jersey City league is tough,” he said. “It’s an hour away and we have two one-hour long games in a row, with no break. You never know who’s gonna be there with us. Plus it’s outside in the summer.
“It’s one of those things that really makes our team bond and it builds our chemistry a ton. The biggest thing is the physicality. The teams there are all like that. They’re huge, they’re physical, they toughen us up for the season.”
Bunnell is ready for the challenge of knocking bodies around as he has been hitting the weight room to the point where Hayes calls him “a physical specimen.”
“He just works hard at everything,” the coach said. “It’s a huge testament to him, not just on the basketball court and in the weight room, but in school also. He’s in clubs, things like that. He’s just motivated to always do his best. It definitely rubs off on his teammates.”
Which is a good sign for the future, as the Ravens will return every regular next year except for Kapp. Bunnell is happy to have another season, but after that he’s unsure where his path will lead.
“The future’s a scary thing for me; I have a lot of interests, it’s hard for me to decide what I want to do with my career,” he said. “I’m interested in math, I like calculus. I like to solve Rubik’s cubes. I like agriculture. Any type of management. Being a captain this year, taking a leadership role definitely translates into management for a career.”
Fortunately for Bunnell, he has another year to figure it all out. Which is good news for Hayes as well, since he loves having him on the team.
“He’s just been a pleasure to coach,” Hayes said. “He’s got a great attitude, a great personality. It’s fun to be around him every day. His growth has been huge for this program.”
Bunnell can only hope his garden grows the same way.
Evan Bunnell has been the RHS boys’ basketball team’s leading scorer and was second in rebounds, assists and three-point shots. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
