5 years after TBT title, Eric Devendorf flashes old form with Boeheim’s Army
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The last time Eric Devendorf donned a Boeheim’s Army jersey, confetti surrounded him on a Dayton, Ohio, court. It was 2021, and Devendorf — in his seventh The Basketball Tournament — had just captained Boeheim’s Army to its first-ever TBT title.
The then-34-year-old only answered two questions from ESPN courtside reporter Jen Hale. Then it was time to celebrate, which included hoisting the Boeheim’s Army label over his head before sticking it to the blank space on the bracket reserved for the TBT champion.
“For Eric Devendorf, the last time that he wears the orange uniform, he goes out a champion,” ESPN’s Bob Rathbun proclaimed on the 2021 broadcast.
But that wasn’t the last time. Five years later, in Seton Hall’s Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, New Jersey, Devendorf was back in an orange jersey. The 39-year-old delivered seven points on 2-of-4 shooting in his return to TBT, helping Boeheim’s Army to an 82-52 blowout win over Hall In in both squads’ tournament opener.
“I thought I was just going to be coaching,” Devendorf told Cuse Sports Talk in a radio appearance a month before the tournament.
Yet there he was Tuesday night, in full uniform, lowering his shoulder into the chest of Hall In guard Terry Roberts, driving to the basket with his left hand and banking a shot off the glass for two points. The scene brought back nearly two-decade-old memories to the minds of Syracuse fans.
Devendorf didn’t see the floor until the start of the second quarter, but he immediately exceeded expectations. Just over a minute into the frame, he received a kick-out pass from Ty Nichols and sank a corner 3 over the outstretched hand of Seton Hall alum Al-Amir Dawes.
“Everyone on this team grew up watching Eric Devendorf play,” general manager and assistant coach Shaun Belbey said postgame. “He’s the captain of our team. When he speaks, people think it’s like a head coach speaking. Everyone listens, stops what they’re doing. He’s got a great basketball mind.”
Great leader. Great mind. Great mentor. It was all Devendorf himself anticipated bringing to this summer’s roster, even after agreeing to don a Boeheim’s Army jersey for the eighth time.
“Don’t expect me to play a lot,” he told Syracuse.com after announcing he’d return to Boeheim’s Army in 2026. “We’ve got guys who could do that.”
Devendorf only played six minutes Tuesday night, comfortably the fewest of the eight players to see the floor for Boeheim’s Army against Hall In. But in those six minutes, Devendorf delivered, and in much different ways than he initially presumed.
“Obviously, he can still get buckets out there, too,” Belbey said. “That 3 he hit when he first got in, in the corner, was a big shot. And that signature lefty layup, too, was a big possession for us.”
Devendorf added a pair of free throws in between the two buckets to bring his total to seven points, good for the fifth-most on BA’s roster. Besides his 50% efficiency from the field, the guard also corralled a few defensive rebounds.
It’s difficult to fathom the possibility of a more full-circle moment for Devendorf and Syracuse than the one five years ago, which was supposed to send him into the sunset as a champion.
But on Tuesday night, Devendorf shared the floor with Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim, the sons of legendary Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who lends his name to the team summer after summer to reunite Syracuse greats.
He also shared the floor with Cole Swider, a former Syracuse star, who played for the Orange not in the decade after Devendorf did, but in the decade after that. And another, Elijah Hughes, who played for SU two years before Swider and 11 years after Devendorf.
A tournament-opening win doesn’t top BA’s tournament-closing victory five years ago. But Tuesday night’s triumph was another full-circle moment for Devendorf five years after it felt that circle had closed.
