Do-everything Devoe racking up the offers, interest
The best kind of exposure a player can gain in April is playing on Sunday in the championship bracket. Perhaps no one understood that more than Team Heat (N.C.) guard Gabe Devoe.
The 6-foot-3 from Shelby High School ended the spring evaluation period with more than a dozen offers and a long list of schools that want to follow him around in July.
Devoe is quick to point out that his team's success has lent to his uptick in interest and offers. Team Heat made it to the final four of the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and the finals of the King James Southern Exposure.
"I think we were successful as a team," Devoe said. "I think we played really well against top teams with more known players. We held our own against them."
Not only did Team Heat hold their own against top teams, they beat them. Devoe, an all-tournament selection at Gibbons, played a large part in that mindset. His leadership in word and action shined through. Paired with his play and off-the-court intangibles has made Devoe an attractive prospect.
Richmond is the latest school to offer, joining a dozen other programs that have tendered an offer. Tennessee, Xavier, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Davidson are "talking a lot to me now," Devoe said Monday afternoon.
Devoe said he's eye-balling a couple of schools to check out this summer.
"I don't know where I'm going to school but I'm going to take an unofficial visit to Clemson and Tennessee," he said.
Devoe said his mental checklist for college is pretty simple.
"Academics are going to matter. I want to have a good degree. I don't want to go too far from the South. Who else is coming in with you, who is ahead of you at your position, stuff like that," Devoe said. "I don't want to go to a school and have to wait two years to play ball."
The question now becomes this for recruiters: what position is he at the next level.
"In high school, I run the run so I'm used to playing with the ball in my hands. But to be honest with you, it doesn't matter if I'm on the ball or off of it," Devoe said. "A lot of schools are recruiting me as a point guard.
"A lot of schools that I talk to want guards that just go out and make plays. I think that fits me."