Recruiting Report: Devonte Thedford (2018)
November 30, 2015 Still with a ton of promise, Hoover point guard Devonte Thedford has not yet begun to reach his potential as possibly one of the state’s best point guards. The 6-foot sophomore was the lone freshman on Hoover’s…
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Continue ReadingNovember 30, 2015
Still with a ton of promise, Hoover point guard Devonte Thedford has not yet begun to reach his potential as possibly one of the state’s best point guards.
The 6-foot sophomore was the lone freshman on Hoover’s roster last season, and learned the system and the Hoover way while playing behind a bevy of senior talent.
He played with Iowa Elite this past offseason, and was able to generate some college attention, but the talented guard is ready to prove himself this season as a sophomore.
“I know the North Dakota coach called my high school coach (Courtney Henderson), and I’ve been getting letters from them. And also Western Illinois, William Penn still, and Briar Cliff University. Not a lot of interest so far, so that’s why I’ve been working to have a good year this year,” said Thedford, who mentioned which school he’s heard the most from so far.
“It’s letters in the mail, and during the July period they were calling my high school coach and told him they like me. I’d say probably North Dakota has been in more contact with me than any other school.”
While playing with Iowa Elite last spring and summer, Thedford mentioned defense was a strong suit if his.
“This summer I think my defensive game was what I did best. When they needed me to defend the best player I could, and when we were down I would guard the best player and that would spark a run so we could come back and win some games,” said Thedford, who mentioned where he will work to improve this season.
“I would say my one-on-one moves still need to improve. I’ve been working on my jump shot and that’s been coming along, so I would say I’ll be working on my one-on-one moves.”
After playing seldom last season as a freshman on a state-qualifying Huskies team, Thedford will see plenty of action this winter as a sophomore.
“I’m either going to start or be the sixth man off the bench, it really just depends on who we play and if we want to go big or go small. He’s (Henderson) expecting me to just have fun, and then to rebound and defend, and he wants me to score more because we’ll need more offense,” said Thedford.
“I wouldn’t say I have many personal goals, but I need to have a good year this year, I want to move my game forward and have a good year, and get my name out.”
Devonte Thedford appreciates everything he has, and he makes it known that his coaches — whether with Iowa Wolves or Des Moines Hoover –are at the cornerstone of his early success.
“This season at Hoover has been great, I’ve learned a lot from Coach (Courtney) Henderson, he’s opened up a lot of doors for me and has made me see basketball in a whole new way,” said the 5-foot-11 freshman.
“If you can rebound or defend than he’s going to put you in. What little time I get I try to make the best of it, if that’s rebound or defend or whenever I can attack the basket I can. He’s made me see a whole different view of basketball and I’m very glad that I went to Hoover.”
Thedford, PHI’s 4th-ranked 2018, plays his offseason ball with Ames-based Iowa Wolves and credits them with preparing him for 4A varsity basketball.
“I worked on my shot and I worked a lot on my mid-range. All-in-all, it’s a pretty good program to be with and I feel lucky — I can really work on my game and develop,” said Thedford. “I used to have no shot at all and now I’m starting to get one, and my handles are getting a lot better.”
“I could get to the bucket when I needed to this summer with the Wolves, and nobody has been really able to compete with me when attacking to the basket so far — that’s my biggest strength I think, is attacking the basket. And then when I get to the lane to get contact, I actually like contact — I just like to get you in the lane.”
The freshman’s recruitment is in its beginning stages and he took a trip to Ames in the fall to visit Iowa State.
“I had an unofficial visit to Iowa State in September, but other than that I’ve just gotten a couple of letters for camps and stuff like that,” said Thedford who explained his visit.
“I talked to the coaches and Fred Hoiberg and I talked to the players, and I have a personal relationship with Kourtlin Jackson who went to Hoover, and I talked with Monte Morris a lot. He (Morris) talked to me about where I’m playing at and how I’m doing in school.”
Thedford spoke briefly with Hoiberg.
“He just kind of said he’s glad to see me and he’ll be looking out for me and other things like that.”