Eric Devendorf was a spirited guard who could drive to the hoop, or pull up for a perimeter shoot. 'Devo' was a right handed player who had an excellent move to his left. He was an excellent free throw shooter, and a decent perimeter shooter, though his shot had an unusual sideways spin to it.

Devendorf played for Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior year of high school, following in the steps of previous Syracuse players Carmelo Anthony, Billy Edelin and Dayshawn Wright.

'Devo' started his freshman year as a key reserve, but by the sixth game of the season, he had earned a starting role as the shooting guard. His ability to penetrate into the lane and drive to the hoop, particularly to his left, made him a valuable asset to have on the court in an effort to draw attention away from senior star Gerry McNamara. The heavily tattooed Devendorf had a fiery temper and was constantly trash talking with the opposition. His freshman year was peppered with great offensive plays, then silly freshman mental mistakes, and sloppy turnovers that often earned him some time on the bench with Coach Boeheim. He struggled to adjust playing defense at the college level. Nevertheless, he was a valuable contributor to the team, and was third in scoring by season's end, becoming only the seventh Syracuse freshman to score 400+ points. He was named to the Big East All Rookie team.

Devendorf started his sophomore year as the starting shooting guard.He had some solid games, and then came down with a stomach virus. Shortly after, a death of a close friend back home in Michigan distracted him, and he found himself a the sixth man on the bench. Coach Boeheim liked the spark Devo was giving to the team off the bench, so he left Andy Rautins as the starter. Devo was rotating between both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He was still sloppy with careless turnovers, but he was also aggressive on offense, and made things work better. After a three game losing streak, Boeheim reinserted Devendorf back into the starting lineup. A few games later, Josh Wright would be ill, and Devo would become the starting point guard, with Rautins as the shooting guard (again). The team clicked well with this combination (though in reality this combination had been playing together for a while, just not starting), and would remain the backcourt combo for the remainder of the year.

Devendorf showed he wanted to be the player to take the key shots, and he had several big games. He had 27 points to spark a win over DePaul, and 11 assists in a huge win over nationally ranked Georgetown. In the last game of the regular season, Devo had 33 points against Villanova. In the first round of the NIT tournament, Devendorf carried the bulk of the scoring for the Orange in the first half, keeping the team in the game. In the second half, the rest of the team rallied, and the Orange would win easily down the stretch 79-73, as Devo would end up with 34 points. Devo would be named Big East Honorable mention following the season.

Devendorf would be the only returning starter for his junior season. Classmate Andy Rautins injured his knee during the summer, and the other starters graduated. Devo provided experience and leadership on a team full of talented but young players. He was second on the team in scoring, when he would tear the ACL in his left knee against Middle Tennessee State, the same type of injury Rautins suffered earlier that year. He would miss the rest of the 2007-08 season.

© RLYoung 2006, 2007