Eric Devendorf will commit to Syracuse University today at a press conference at 1:30 p.m., Devendorf told The Daily Orange.

Devendorf had limited his options to Florida, Michigan State and Syracuse and will announce his decision at the Reebok ABCD camp in Teaneck, N.J.

‘I really liked the city environment and I got along great with the coaching staff,’ Devendorf said. ‘Coach Boeheim told me that I would get immediate playing time because I can play the one or two with Gerry (McNamara).’

As a junior, Devendorf averaged 30.6 points and 8.0 rebounds for Central High School in Bay City, Mich. His game has drawn comparisons to McNamara and Duke’s J.J. Reddick, but Devendorf’s high school coach said that Devendorf is a breed of his own.

‘He attacks the rim so well,’ Joe Richard said. ‘He has more athleticism and he loves going to the hole. He can also pull up to the three.

‘He’s a workaholic. He’s in the gym every day.’

Devendorf is ranked No. 17 in the nation among 2005 recruits and No. 6 among shooting guards by the Rivals.com recruiting service.

The announcement comes on the heels of a long recruitment process in which Devendorf committed to Michigan State before his junior year of high school, only to rescind in early 2004.

‘It was no disrespect to Michigan State,’ Devendorf said. ‘I just wanted to weigh all of my options. They were still on my list.’

Initially, Devendorf had strong ties to MSU. He played open-gym basketball with Magic Johnson in August 2003. A few days later, he committed. But in late March 2004, Devendorf de-committed.

Devendorf visited the SU campus in early June and played in a pickup game with senior Hakim Warrick and sophomore Louie McCroskey. He also toured the campus and athletic facilities.

Orange fans won’t get to see Devendorf in the Carrier Dome anytime soon, though. He will transfer for his senior season of high school to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., following in the footsteps of Carmelo Anthony, Billy Edelin and incoming freshman Dayshawn Wright.

Recently, Devendorf started to favor SU. Two guards in the 2005 Gator recruiting class verbally committed last week, filling Florida’s backcourt.

‘Florida was a nice school and it had a nice environment,’ Devendorf said. ‘But I liked the Syracuse campus and the city environment better.’

Prior to his performance at the 2003 ABCD camp – where he drew scholarship offers from Louisville, Florida, N.C. State and SU – MSU was the only school that showed much interest.

Now, his commitment to SU is for good.

Said Devendorf: ‘There’s no way I would change now.’

Published on July 7, 2004 at 12:00 pm