Eric Devendorf is quickly earning the hearts of Syracuse basketball fans. From the pregame head bobbing and yelling to the emotional outbursts during play, the freshman is finding his place.

On Saturday, the guard scored a career high 19 points on 5-of-8 3-pointers in an 80-64 win over Texas Christian at the Carrier Dome. After a slow acclimation to the starting lineup, Devendorf proved a key scoring supplement to Demetris Nichols in his third game since replacing junior Louie McCroskey as a starter.

Devendorf’s high-energy play has sparked a fan following. Against the Horned Frogs, a ‘Bay City’ sign was held high in the student section, recognizing Devendorf’s home town of Bay City, Mich.

On the court, his gritty, McNamara-esque game seems to have cemented his starting role for now.

‘I thought (Devendorf) was more confident tonight, much more confident,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He made just a couple turnovers, but he was much more confident, and I thought that was the difference.’

Confidence is indeed Devendorf’s game. After scoring only three points in the first half, he found a hot hand and made his first three 3-point attempts of the second. At 12:36, McNamara found Devendorf on the way to the paint. Devendorf successfully drew contact while making a layup. As he walked to the free throw line to complete the 3-point play, a ‘he’s a freshman’ chant grew to a roar.

‘It’s good to know that the fans appreciate me playing,’ Devendorf said. ‘I’m just going to keep going out and playing like I did tonight.

‘I let the game just come to me so I could get my shots. Then when they came out I went to the basket, penetrated, kicked it and got some assists. So I felt pretty confident.’

Devendorf adds another dimension to the Syracuse offense. When McNamara struggled like he did against TCU (0-for-6 3-pointers), Devendorf was a beneficiary of McNamara’s 10 assists (McNamara connected with Devendorf four times against TCU for 11 points). While Boeheim said Nichols can be too one-dimensional as a 3-point shooter, Devendorf never hesitates to beat a defender off the dribble.

And though he wasn’t credited with a steal against TCU, Devendorf is learning to have a nose for the ball like McNamara. At 8:41 of the first half, he collected a Brent Hackett jump shot and quickly started it up court to Nichols who finished with a hard dunk. It gave the Orange a nine-point lead that grew as high as 17 before the end of the half.

‘Eric is a great player. We know he is and so does he,’ McNamara said. ‘He just has to play within himself. I think he rushed a little bit in the first couple of games to prove himself, but he doesn’t have to prove himself. We know how good he is and he just has to play his game.’

Like McNamara, Devendorf acknowledged after the game the team still has some steps to make. Still young in his first season, Devendorf is ready to keep working, though.

‘We kind of let them get back into it. It was down to 10, but we’re gonna get that as the season goes along,’ he said. ‘I’m a freshman coming in, so I just have to play my role.’

As for the fan support, Devendorf is glad he’s been received so well.

‘I’m lovin’ it,’ he said. ‘I’m just gonna keep playing my game, so hopefully the fans keep lovin’ it too.’

Published on December 4, 2005 at 12:00 pm