Memo to New Zealand: Give Eric Devendorf a Chance to Play Basketball!
|
||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
Aucklander Thomas Abercrombie was last year's top player for the Waikato Pistons in New Zealand.
The stormy saga of Eric Devendorf, Bay City's bad boy of the basketball world, continues.
It's about time some team gave him a chance to play. Somebody with the kind of fire Devo brings to the court will no doubt benefit.
But talk about trash talking! The press sets the tone.
The Waikato Times in New Zealand headlines: "The new Waikato Pistons import is a tattooed trash-talker with a history of off-court woes who may be the league's best player in recent history." Devendorf will play point guard for the upcoming season, beginning March 4, with the New Zealand press relentless in bringing up the talented former Syracuse player's past.
Meanwhile, the basketball blogosphere opined that Devo's troubles in the NBA D League at the Reno Bighorns was "he rubbed the coaching staff the wrong way."
Despite scoring 11 points in 20 minutes on the floor in his last of three games for the Bighorns, Devendorf was released.
No doubt his reputation preceded him and perhaps was blown out of proportion.
Surely basketball (and football, and hockey, and tennis, etc.) at all levels is filled with egoists who pump themselves up after scoring, as Devo did vigorously and continuously.
Our prediction is he will be a great success overseas and will be back in the U.S. within three years playing for a NBA team.
"The 1.93m (6-4) guard had an outstanding college career at Syracuse University and will be one of the best-credentialed imports to play in New Zealand's National Basketball League," wrote Ian Anderson for the Times.
"But he won't get off the plane here without bringing some baggage." Devendorf was suspended at Syracuse in late 2008 for allegedly striking a female student during a traffic dispute and had to serve 40 hours community service. He was already on disciplinary probation at the university from another incident.
"His off-court behavior raised the ire of college basketball fans, with Devendorf a constant target last year on various websites," wrote the Times, quoting notoriously fickle and petty bloggers.
"The neck tattoos don't help, nor does the endless preening after three-pointers," wrote one website contributor.
"The word punk definitely applies."
Pistons boss John Davey said the organization was aware of Devendorf's off-court problems.
"When we did our homework I baulked about it and so did [Pistons coach] Dean [Vickerman]," Davey said.
"But we talked to Eric, his agent, a number of coaches and people and we're happy with the assurances we got over the incident."
Devendorf was a standout performer at Syracuse, one of the top U.S. college basketball programs, for three seasons.
The Bay City native averaged 12 points per game in his freshman year at Syracuse and 15 points and four assists per game the following season.
He was leading all scorers for Syracuse after 10 games the next season with 17 points and four assists per game but he tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and was out for the rest of the season.
Last year, Devendorf declared himself eligible for the NBA draft but wasn't picked up, making him ineligible for his senior year at Syracuse. He recently spent two weeks in the National Basketball Development "D" League with the Reno Bighorns in Reno, Nevada.
Davey said Devendorf was a similar type of player to former star Pistons import Jason Crowe who would thrill NBL (New Zealand Basketball League) crowds.
"Eric's a fantastic shooter who can also run the floor and take the ball to the hoop," Davey said.
"He's not afraid to exchange a few verbals with opposing players and will be the kind of player who draws people to watch."
Devendorf played point guard in his freshman year at Syracuse but shifted to shooting guard when Jonny Flynn took over as ball-handler. Flynn was a sixth draft choice in last season's NBA draft and now starts for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Devendorf is likely to complete a formidable starting five for the Pistons along with shooting guard Gerard Bowden, small forward Thomas Abercrombie, power forward Tony Ronaldson and center Alex Pledger.
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
|
Dave Rogers |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 04-15-2024 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm