Paul Harris made his first collegiate start Saturday night, but afterwards he thought it should have gone to someone else.

‘I know there are a lot of people who want to see me do real good and a lot of people think I should be starting, but it seems today I shouldn’t be starting the way I played,’ Harris said.

‘Eric (Devendorf) played well coming off the bench. But the way I played, I honestly think he should be starting way over me.’

Harris started in place of Devendorf in Saturday’s 79-52 win over Colgate, marking the first time in 39 games Devendorf was not in the Orange’s opening five.

But it was Devendorf, coming off the bench, who outshined Harris.

Devendorf finished with eight points, his most since Nov. 27 against Holy Cross, and shot 3-of-6 from the field in 21 minutes. He added a team-high six assists, the second-most in a game for Devendorf this season.

Harris was 0-for-4 from the field in his first start and finished with two points, both from the free-throw line. He had seven rebounds and three turnovers.

Despite not starting for the first time since Nov. 22, 2005 against Bucknell, Devendorf played with improved confidence and looked like the shooting guard SU is used to seeing.

‘He did a nice job tonight,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He was good, he was real good I thought. Good defensively and good on the offensive end too.’

Devendorf first entered the game with 10:08 remaining in the first half, but it took him some time to become re-acclimated on the offensive end. His first basket came four minutes later, on a vintage Devendorf play. He took the ball at the top of the arc, dribble penetrated to the basket and made the lay-up, while fouled. He converted the free throw for the 3-point play.

‘I’m trying to get better,’ Devendorf said. ‘I still got stuff in my chest and everything. I’m still not 100 percent right now.’

At the half, Devendorf was 2-of-3 from the field, including a 3-pointer, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists. He played 10 minutes and was visibly tired after an active first frame.

‘I felt all right, I’m just getting back into it right now,’ Devendorf said. ‘I have to get my conditioning back and my chest still hurts when I’m running, but I’ll be alright.’

Four of his six assists came in the second half, when SU shot 64 percent from the field. Those four assists all led to Demetris Nichols baskets.

‘We don’t really miss Eric because even when he comes off the bench he’s a great player for us,’ SU forward Terrence Roberts said. ‘On and off the court he’s going to be a good player for us.

‘Once he got into the game, he did a great job of distributing the ball, getting guys shots and stuff like that. That’s what we really need.’

Still, questions remain about Devendorf’s recent lack of playing time. He has battled an apparent stomach illness since before SU’s loss to No. 10 Wichita State last Saturday, but Boeheim would neither confirm nor deny whether Devendorf is still sick.

‘I’m not a doctor,’ Boeheim said. ‘Not that I know of.’

Boeheim did address a question in his postgame press conference about a pre-practice huddle on Thursday.

As SU was set to begin practice, the players and coaches met at halfcourt and put their hands up, signifying the start of practice, but Devendorf intervened. He had something to say and addressed the team for approximately five minutes.

Boeheim had no comment on what Devendorf said.

‘Nothing that happens in practice is ever going to be discussed by me or by anybody else,’ Boeheim said. ‘If people report things from practice, there will be no (open) practices again. Ever.’

Senior center Darryl Watkins said Devendorf was updating the team on why he was sitting out. Devendorf saw only nine minutes of play in the first half of Tuesday’s loss to No. 22 Oklahoma State and attempted only two shots, both of which missed. It was the first game in his career he was held scoreless.

‘We talked about why he was sitting out,’ Watkins said. ‘It’s solved now.’

Published on December 15, 2006 at 12:00 pm