The Madison Square Garden crowd stuck around last Saturday night to shower Jonny Flynn with a thunderous ovation. Flynn became only the fourth player ever to be named the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in a losing effort. A huge honor, indeed. The problem is, Flynn wanted company. ‘People talked about me getting MVP,’ Flynn said, ‘but if it was like that, it should have been co-MVP because without Eric Devendorf, we wouldn’t have even been close in some of those games.’ Amid Flynn’s tour de force throughout the tournament, Devendorf’s breakout performance was rendered somewhat of a footnote. The fiery shooting guard set a Big East tournament scoring record with 84 points, often erupting on one-man spurts. SU head coach Jim Boeheim said Sunday he was unaware of Devendorf’s record until well after the tournament. With last season’s ACL tear, which kept him out for most of the year, and this season’s off-court drama in his wake, Devendorf averaged 21 points per game in the Big Apple. Maybe that’s the most important revelation from Syracuse’s pulsating run last week -Devendorf busting out as the go-to scorer. While SU boasts the prototypical balanced offensive lineup with five players averaging in double-figures, March Madness often demands ultra-assertive, ice-in-the-vein individuals to rise up in the clutch. Devendorf hinted last week that he may be that difference maker for Syracuse. ‘E was huge,’ Flynn said. ‘He hit shot after shot. Without him, we wouldn’t have made it as far as we made it. …He really came through and showed people across the country that he’s a player.’ The shot most people may remember didn’t even count. With 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation of Syracuse’s quarterfinal game against Connecticut, Devendorf retrieved a wayward deflection and drained a desperation 3-pointer. The referees first ruled that Devendorf cleanly released the ball before the horn sounded. He jumped on the scorer’s table, raised his arms into the air and reveled in a career-defining moment. Replays showed, however, that Devendorf was about a 10th of a second slow. The officials waved off the shot, sending the game into the first of six overtime periods. Against the Mountaineers in the next game, Devendorf reclaimed a sense of vindication, sinking a 55-footer at the halftime buzzer. The whirlwind of emotions lingered through Selection Sunday after its Big East tournament run. On Sunday at Manley Field House, Devendorf’s eyes were fixated on his phone, texting away, for some 20 minutes as his coach talked to the media. When it was his time to talk, Devendorf assured one reporter that he still has some buzzer-beaters in him. ‘I had a pretty good run in the Big East tournament, but there are always things you can do better, so we’ll see in Miami,’ said Devendorf, who also scored 19 second-half points against Seton Hall to turn a back-and-forth tilt into a laugher. The last time Syracuse advanced this far, another player swept similar momentum into the tournament: Devendorf’s mentor, Gerry McNamara. McNamara hung out with the Orange all week in New York City at the team’s hotel and watched the games from the crowd. After Devendorf nailed a transition three to cap a personal nine-point outburst against West Virginia, Devendorf turned toward McNamara and yelled in excitement. The former teammates talked over the phone Sunday about the tournament. Devendorf credits McNamara for a smell-blood attitude on the court. ‘I took a lot of advice from him my freshman year and kept it,’ Devendorf said. ‘Just the same things – keep working hard and keep playing aggressive.’ Now the role is reversed. Devendorf is the only player who saw action in Syracuse’s last NCAA appearance. Arinze and Andy Rautins were on the 2006 team, but did not play in the Tournament. A freshman on the Syracuse squad that suffered a one-and-done clunker against Texas A&M, Devendorf is now the only tourney veteran. Not that he’s bragging about it. Devendorf has tried to suppress the details of the Orange’s 66-58 first-round loss to the Aggies. ‘I remember losing – that’s it,’ Devendorf said. ‘And it wasn’t a good feeling. Just to go there for that short period of time and not really experience what I thought we were going to experience was kind of a heartbreaker.’ Senior Jake Presutti was a student manager on that ’06 team and has played with Devendorf ever since. He agreed that the sudden-death nature of March Madness suits Devendorf’s style. ‘Eric was phenomenal,’ Presutti said. ‘He was huge down there for us, hitting big shot after big shot. Eric is a big-time player – he’s been hitting big shots since his freshman year. He’s going to be ready to go in the tournament.’ Still, players aren’t exactly treating Devendorf like the town elder. No need to rush to him for Tournament guidance. Last week’s drama provided enough pressure-packed experience, they say. Boeheim denied that inexperience would be an obstacle. ‘I don’t think Stephen F. Austin has a player that played in the tournament, either,’ Boeheim said. ‘I don’t think that’s an issue.’ Devendorf agrees. Though he is the only one to have played in the Big Dance, Devendorf said his teammates already ‘know what to expect.’ Well, sort of. Devendorf and others admit they’ve never heard of Stephen F. Austin, a small public school tucked in Nacogdoches, Texas. ‘But I’m sure they heard of us,’ Devendorf said. ‘We’re going to go down there and make sure we take care of business.’

thdunne@syr.edu