The Syracuse men’s basketball team got its man.

Point guard Eric Devendorf committed officially Thursday, becoming perhaps SU’s best recruit since Carmelo Anthony.

In fact, Devendorf has taken steps to put himself in the same class as Anthony, transferring from Bay City Central High School to national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. – the same school Anthony transferred to for his senior year.

Devendorf was, evidently, too big for his hometown. But will he even be too big for Anthony’s one-and-done philosophy in college?

‘We’ll see how it goes,’ Devendorf said. ‘Right now I am just focusing on getting better as a player at Oak Hill. I haven’t thought much about it.’

NBA draft classes are getting younger by the year, and 2004’s crop of would-be freshmen was unprecedented in declaring for the pros. Though there were no LeBron James-types among them, eight of the first 19 picks were spent on high school players.

This year’s draft wasn’t all that peculiar, though. The Orlando Magic’s No. 1 selection of 18-year-old Dwight Howard marked the fourth year in a row a non-college player was taken first.

As for Devendorf, only time will tell.

‘I personally don’t think he will go to college,’ said Joe Ricard, Devendorf’s former high school coach at Central High School in Bay City, Mich.

Ricard, who said he hasn’t talked to Devendorf in months, believes Devendorf might be exactly what the NBA is looking for. Though Ricard said Devendorf gave him no indication he intended to go straight to the NBA, Devendorf has the talent and marketable qualities teams look for, he said.

‘He does things that guards at the college and professional level do,’ Ricard said. ‘NBA teams were willing to take a chance on high school guards this year.’

Four of the eight high-schoolers taken in the first round were guards. Before 2004, a majority of high school players taken were forwards or centers.

Though Devendorf says he hasn’t given it much thought, NBA scouts will no doubt be watching at Oak Hill and the allure of several million dollars in a guaranteed NBA contract may be hard to turn down.

Right now, his senior season is the only thing he is thinking about.

Said Devendorf: ‘My goal at Oak Hill is to win a national championship.’

Published on July 10, 2004 at 12:00 pm