Eric Devendorf (Left) in photo posted on team website in Australia.
Devendorf Clings to Life With 15 Points in Loss to Perth for 0-7 Tigers
Former Bay City Central, Syracuse University Star Struggling Down Under
November 19, 2010
By: Dave Rogers
Former Syracuse flash Eric Devendorf, Bay City's only pro basketballer, is clinging to life in a tough Australian league.
"Devo" scored 15 points, matching the output of highly touted Corey "Homicide" Williams, last year's league MVP, but his Melbourne Tigers went down tonight to the Perth Wildcats 93-84.
Devendorf recently survived a team shuffle that saw another import, T.J. Campbell, dropped in favor of Williams, a New Yorker who had been unable to catch on with a team in Greece.
Campbell is a former University of Portland (WA) point guard who was averaging over 12 points a game when he was broomed. Williams starred at the University of Arizona.
The fact that Devo was able to keep pace with the highly-touted Williams, and exceed his average by several points, must augur well for the local boy who made the all Big East team as a freshman at Syracuse.
After being shunted out of the NBA D League for unexplained reasons, Devendorf stunned the New Zealand league with 49 points in his first game. At season's end, he jumped to Australia but soon found the level of play much higher.
The former Orange star will take the court again Sunday night versus the Gold Coast Suns.
"While Williams provided good signs for Melbourne in terms of providing a floor general and someone to set up their bigs and shooters, the fact they have now fallen to 0-6 means it's a massive uphill battle to save the season," opined Sportal New Zealand.
With the departure of Campbell and the arrival of Williams, Devendorf remains one of two imports on the Melbourne squad.
Last year, on court for the Waikato Pistons and the Wellington Saints, Devendorf found the going much easier, making "Player of the Week" several times and racking up many good scoring nights.
He led the New Zealand Basketball League in scoring with 34 points average.