Charles Evans is the owner, founder, and CEO of the 413 Elite. Born and raised in Springfield, his journey started with playing basketball and not doing so great in school. He joined a team at Holyoke Community College (HCC) and then failed out of that team. After a while, he went around and tried out for different teams in Jacksonville, Florida. Until one team finally picked him up for a walk-on and then gave him a three year contract.
“It's done, like it's a done deal,” said Evans, after accepting the three year contract.
After fulfilling his contract, he got recruited to play overseas and played in places like Tahiti, Switzerland, and Italy. He went back to the college that gave him three years and graduated.
“I went to a NAIA Division I school, a smaller university. I ended up graduating from that college that gave me three years. I ended up graduating sigma, beta, Delta, international business honor society. I got my grades right," he said.
When he got back to the states, he had brought his team with him in 2021 and created the 413 elite.
Evans created the team to help people be inspired and show that kids and people who are from the ghetto or are in a bad place that they could still watch basketball games at a pro level.
The meaning of 413 Elite
The 413 in 413 Elite is Springfield's area code and also is Philippians 4:13 which is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and elite which means aiming to elevate life in the region through basketball.
Evans wanted to take a part of Springfield with him to his team and Springfield has a long history with basketball. The team’s mascot, Mr. Buckets, has a basketball head.
"You know what? We're the birthplace of basketball, where the game first started. So it's only right that we take that basketball head, since we are the birthplace of basketball, and put a crown on it, because basically, we're the king of this,” he said. “ I feel like [it’s] the perfect representation of who and what we are and what we do and I haven't seen no mascot like him.”
Evans also gave advice for people who want to get into higher leagues in basketball or advance in the sport.
“I would say, just find a good trainer. Find somebody that's done what you're trying to do. That is the key,” he said. “And if it's not me, there's other people that you can seek out, ask for workouts, different things of that nature, and get it to where you actually going. Like, okay…‘we're doing this,’ and practice it daily, create a habit out of it, and you'll get better,” he said.