Identifying Mundelein junior guard Evan Salvador’s strength isn’t difficult to do.
He’s a really good shooter.
To elevate his game, however, Salvador needed to add to his repertoire.
“Last year I was more of just a catch-and-shoot player and someone trying to help out the seniors,” he said. “Now I’m more versatile. I needed to find other ways to score, like with a midrange game or driving. It’s been a lot of hard work.”
Salvador’s work is paying off this season. He entered the week averaging 13.0 points, shooting 41% from 3-point range and 80% from the free-throw line.
“I challenged him before his sophomore year, saying that we needed someone to catch and shoot and knock down shots, and he took that challenge,” Mundelein coach Matt Badgley said. “He can really shoot. But he’s tough, too, and he’ll battle. He’s become one of our best defenders. I knew this year that he would be good.”
Salvador has been good enough to become the clear-cut No. 2 scoring option behind junior guard Derek Bishop, who has led the Mustangs (9-18, 3-8) in that category in each of his three seasons and has already surpassed 1,000 career points. Salvador has scored at least 20 points four times this season, recording a career-high 23 during a North Suburban Conference win against Zion-Benton on Dec. 6.
Bishop and Salvador, whose older brother Jake was on the team before graduating in 2020, have played together for years.
“I love playing with Derek and know he’s always going to get his shots,” Salvador said. “I also think he can’t do it all. When both of us are hitting our shots, we’re a much better team.”
During Mundelein’s 65-58 conference win against visiting Libertyville on Friday, Bishop scored 32 points and Salvador added 17, combining for three-quarters of the Mustangs’ total.
“Especially since we play in such a good conference, with the way I’ve been playing, I’ve been getting more recognition,” Salvador said. “There have been more people coming to the games and coming up to me in the hallways. It’s good to see the work starting to pay off.”
Salvador does much of that work in close proximity to his father, Omar, who played basketball at Marian in Wisconsin and joined Badgley’s staff last season.
Salvador’s father has been his coach at different points in his career. But they also take advantage of any opportunity to put up extra shots in the offseason and watch film together.
“We’ve always been a bunch of gym rats,” Omar Salvador said. “I waited for him to show me that basketball was something he wanted to pursue, and it’s been fun watching him grow. He’s eager to learn and knows he has things to work on. He’s gotten so much better at taking coaching.”
That can be a complicated situation for father and son, but Evan and Omar Salvador said their relationship has been overwhelmingly positive. It includes unfiltered honesty and a focus on parts of the game they both love, like shooting technique.
“He’s always saying ‘quick release,’” Evan Salvador said. “He notices that if I slow down my release, like when no one is nearby, my shot gets off.
“He’s always giving me pointers, and he’s really helped bring my skills further along. It’s definitely a cool experience having him around.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
