When Michael Devoe began his collegiate career at Georgia Tech, he had a goal to win a starting role for the Yellow Jackets.
A freshman this season, Devoe suffered a toe injury in September, an injury that left him out for about a month and a half. He said he wasn’t able to practice to his full ability, and as the 2018-19 season started, he didn’t earn that spot in the lineup.
Ten games into the season, Devoe achieved his goal, making his first collegiate start Dec. 19 against Arkansas and has started each game since then.
“He is a high-IQ player, and we’re going to need him to be really big for us,” coach Josh Pastner said.
Devoe has scored 148 points, and his overall field-goal percentage is 41.1 percent. But he has been lacking in his 3-point game, where he’s shooting 27.9 percent. Both Pastner and Devoe recognized the shooting slump he is in, but Devoe said he is putting extra time in the gym to work through it.
Devoe ranks second in rebounding among Tech’s guards, with 56 rebounds. He also has 30 steals and 10 blocks.
“I’m so proud of him for his guard rebounding, and that is so important to me,” Pastner said. “But he’s got to be a great rebounder for us in order for us to have success.”
Defense was an area that Devoe’s high school coach, Kevin Boyle, emphasized during Devoe’s senior year at Montverde Academy in Orlando, Fla., which helped prepare him for Pastner’s emphasis on guards getting defensive rebounds.
When Devoe committed to Tech, he had the intention of wanting to play right away, and he said Pastner expressed a similar sentiment.
“Coach wants me to play a lot and be competitive on the floor as well, and do as much as I can with those minutes,” Devoe said. “So I just have to come out there and compete.”
He worked to return from his injury to get off the bench and onto the floor during the first part of the season. He saw his minutes continue to increase as the season progressed, followed by earning his starting spot next to point guard Jose Alvarado in the Tech backcourt.
Devoe has played the point at times when Alvarado wasn’t on the floor, and he will start at that position Saturday against Louisville. Alvarado has been ruled out of the game because of a groin injury.
Devoe said he has developed into being a vocal leader among his teammates. While he said he wasn’t much of a leader on his high school teams, he realized as a point guard for Tech, he needed to be. He began to talk more to his teammates during practices and on the court, working to develop his own leadership capabilities.
Devoe had to prove himself as a freshman to be in the starting lineup. Now that he’s earned it, he’s continued work to hold on to the spot.
“It was just a boost of confidence that coach believed in me, and I also believe in him,” Devoe said. “He’s going to put the best players on the floor to start the game. So I feel like he had trust in me and had confidence in me, so I truly thank him for that.”
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