Eric Devendorf’s first college exhibition game was supposed to be a warmup – net a quick 20, work the team chemistry and pressure the older players for a starting spot.

Devendorf’s played against better competition before. He didn’t need to focus on breaking down Saint Rose. But last night at the Carrier Dome, things hardly went according to plan.

Devendorf sat on the bench with four fouls five minutes into the second half. With SU head coach Jim Boeheim already tossed after a first half blowup, Devendorf grabbed a towel to go with his scowl as he watched much of the Orange’s 86-73 defeat of the Golden Knights from the bench.

His first-game numbers – seven points, zero assists and three rebounds – were unimpressive and as a result, Devendorf was disappointed, grading his performance a D. Devendorf wanted a bold beginning to his SU career to go with his bold talent, but it didn’t happen last night.

His entrance into the game began with pomp at 13:51 of the first half. Awaiting his turn, Devendorf was already on the floor in front of the scorer’s table before the substitution buzzer stopped. Twelve seconds later, he hit his first collegiate three-pointer on a feed from Josh Wright.

But things quickly began to head south. Devendorf turned the ball over on SU’s next possession. Two possessions later, he was swatted trying to drive to the basket.

‘I think I played terrible,’ Devendorf said. ‘I just didn’t feel like I played how I know I can play. I’m hard on myself.’

Two minutes later, Devendorf earned his first foul – a charge – while driving to the hoop.

Then, with 2:35 left in the first half, Orange fans saw a glimpse of Devendorf’s potential. Dribbling out of the corner, he crossed over Saint Rose’s Will Monica and put a nice touch on a lay-up for his last points of the night.

Devendorf’s frustration was clear from the sidelines when Boeheim was thrown out of the game with 28.9 seconds remaining in the half. After Boeheim was ejected, Devendorf stood from his corner seat and tossed a towel on the court. Luckily, the officials – and Boeheim – didn’t see the freshman’s outburst.

‘I thought they were missing a lot of calls, but that’s not my job,’ Devendorf said. ‘That was surprising; I didn’t expect (Boeheim to get ejected).’

Senior backcourt mate Gerry McNamara could sympathize. He said he felt the same jitters before his first game at SU. McNamara said Devendorf tried too hard, but with time he will fulfill fans’ expectations.

‘He tried to force the issue a little bit and we all expected that,’ McNamara said. ‘He’s a great player and he wants to prove that, that’s understandable. He hit that first 3 and I wanted him to continue doing what he was doing. He’ll be big time.’

McNamara said Devendorf told him before the game he was nervous and McNamara imparted some advice.

‘I told him, ‘It’s no different that any game you ever played. It’s just the next level; it’s no different,” McNamara said. ‘He’s gonna be a big player, he just needs a little more time. The first game doesn’t judge your career.’

McNamara, for example, only had five points in his first exhibition game as a freshman.

Boeheim wasn’t as critical of Devendorf as the player was of himself.

‘I thought Eric did some nice things,’ Boeheim said. ‘He got caught up a couple times in traffic where he made some mistakes. Whoever’s keeping the turnover statistics were pretty good to him and Andy (Rautins) because they didn’t give them all the turnovers they had. But I thought (Devendorf) did a good job.’

Devendorf said he was happy to get his college career underway. He looks forward to the next game and getting more comfortable on the court.

‘It felt good just to see what it was like. Now I just need to go out and play like it’s a regular game,’ Devendorf said. ‘I just gotta feel a little more comfortable. I went out there and I was nervous.’

Published on November 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm