Things changed for Alpharetta junior Devontae Cacok on Jan. 17. He finally played in front of the right people. His recruitment had begun.
A move-in from Clayton County, Cacok arrived at Alpharetta as an unknown. He’s still not a household name among recruiting circles. But the buzz is growing over the 6-6 forward, who is averaging 20-plus-points and 13 rebounds per game for an Alpharetta team that’ll be the second seed in next week’s Region 6-AAAAAA tournament.
On Jan. 17, Alpharetta hosted region rival Chattahoochee. The Cougars feature a highly-touted recruit in guard Marcus Sheffield. Scouting services were in the gym. Cacok had big game, scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block shot in Alpharetta’s 75-70 win.
“The next morning our phone started blowing up,” said Rose Lewis, Cacok’s mother.
With Atlanta’s reputation as a hotbed for college basketball prospects, stories like Cacok’s happen almost daily. And there are certainly area recruits garnering more attention from college basketball’s top programs. But what separates Cacok’s story is how quickly it blew up.
He had one recruiting questionnaire from George Mason before the Chattahoochee game. Now, he’s receiving calls and recruiting material daily. Lewis said she’s been on the phone with coaches as late as 11 p.m. Florida State, TCU, East Carolina and Winthrop are among the schools, who contacted Alpharetta coach Frederick Hurt about Cacok this week.
“It can be a little overwhelming, especially when it happens all at once. And that’s what’s happening here,” said Hurt. “Every kid is a little different, and we certainly don’t deal with it every day and with every player like some teams in the Atlanta read do. But we try to keep them level-headed about it and try to help them get as much information as they can. We try to help them set some standards so they don’t get overwhelmed with it themselves. They could very easily get caught on the phone and forget about homework. They’re going to have to set some guidelines themselves.”
Cacok is enjoying the process, but is trying to remain humble. He directs most recruiting calls to his mother, especially at night, and says he’s focusing on his team’s post-season goals more than his own recruiting.
“All this won’t mean as much if we don’t make a run in the tournament,” said Cacok, who came off the bench against West Forsyth on Friday to allow his senior teammates to start in the final home game.
Regardless of the Cougars’ playoff performance, Cacok will head into the offseason with plenty of eyes watching him to see how he progresses and grows. Right now, he’s an undersized post player with an unpolished game away from the basket. But he’s capable of dominating inside the lane.
“He’s so springy, so long and so athletic that everybody wants to make sure they’re not missing something,” said Hurt.
Cacok’s spring produced five dunks in the second half against West Forsyth, including a one-handed throw-down with a minute left that helped seal a 62-51 victory. Cacok finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
About the Author
