Bleachers College Sports Devendorf: Thug, Myth, Chin Strap
| 24 March 2009
To some a legend, and to others a villain; One thing is for sure Eric Devendorf is making a name for himself. Born and raised in Bay City Michigan, the land of the Pig Gib Rib Roast and Paul Bunyan legend, the man has risen from obscurity to become one of the most loved and hated figures in college basketball today.
If you didn’t know who he was before, after his heroics in the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament hitting numerous last second shots, and his run in with local Syracuse law officials over punching a 20 year old girl in the mug… you will now.
First obviously we must discuss the pressing issue. Did “Devo” attack this helpless girl, was it all made up, or is the truth slightly different then what some may know. Me personally, I say he hit the bitch and she probably deserved it! Let’s start by taking a look at the allegations:
Smith, 20, has said she was driving her car about 3 a.m. in the 900 block of Walnut Avenue when several people began kicking her car. Smith told police she got out of the car to stop them, and she said Devendorf walked up to her and struck her with a closed fist.
She also told police that Devendorf shouted obscenities and told her to get back in the car. Devendorf was gone by the time police arrived.
Sullivan said that Smith was arriving at a party at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity as Devendorf was leaving. Sullivan, who is based in Syracuse, would not say what prompted the incident between Devendorf and Smith, but said that witnesses will corroborate Devendorf's testimony Thursday that he was raising his hand to defend himself, not to strike Smith in the face.
"He's six-foot-four, 185 pounds," Sullivan said. "There's no mark. Nothing. I find that in and of itself lacking in credibility. I look forward to Mr. Devendorf being exonerated."
First of all, if I happened to be a 20 year old girl in a car when several beastly men began kicking it, my first reaction is not to get out of the car and approach the hoodlums. No, my reaction is to step on the gas and high-tail my ass out of there. That being said, the fact that she did aggressively approach the alleged, to then receive a fist in the face from a much larger person that left no mark, leaves a bit to be desired. “If the glove don’t fit you must acquit” I say.
These allegations became slightly more serious due to a previous altercation earlier in the spring, but I digress, a thug leading a thug life, casualties are inevitable. From there, we then see Devendorf working his butt off doing community service on Christmas at a local rescue mission. Stand up guy. In Devo’s words:
"They probably think I'm an a-hole, man, I know they do. I know everybody thinks I'm an a-hole."
"I don't know if it's because of the tattoos or my competitive spirit. But sometimes people can get the wrong idea about a person. Off the court I'm a whole different person.
"I'm a good dude, man. I'm a down-to-earth dude."
"They spend a day with me, man, they'd have some fun."
I like it, and moving on we see a guy that his teammates love and has the clutch ability to win in the stretch. In his first 3 years with Syracuse he made the Big East All-Rookie team, he was named MVP of the BCA Invitational and was also named to the All Big East Honorable Mention team. In his Junior year he lead Syracuse in scoring 10 games into the season before he was sidelined with and ACL injury, and this season he’s been remarkable. No need for more words at this point these videos say it all.
As legend grows of Devendorf spreading merry cheer and destruction in the face of young men and woman throughout the country, few can deny the power derived from his riffraff chin strap. He can scale enemies with a bulls eye toss from half court, feed the homeless in a soup kitchen, and leap criminal offenses in a single bound. Look, in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no that’s just Eric Devendorf and his power chin strap.
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