McDevitt turned 1-2 team into program record-setter with Columbia Central
By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Brooklyn – Two losses in the first three games, and one by an eye-opening 51 points.
That certainly wasn’t the start Columbia Central girls basketball coach David McDevitt had drawn up when the winter began.
But with patience and coaching came improvement and success.
Record-setting success, to be exact.
And with that, McDevitt is the 2016 JTV Sports Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.
“It was a great year, really,” McDevitt said. “To me, one of the main things that stands out is the perseverance and character of the girls. We didn’t get off to a great start. We struggled to win our first game and then lost badly the next two.”
But they hung in.
McDevitt credits his girls and their desire to get better, but he had plenty to do with it.
As for the start, the Golden Eagles began the winter with a 47-45 victory against a Lumen Christi team that would end up winning six games all year.
The second game was a 56-26 loss to Northwest, followed by a 72-21 setback to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
Yes, both those teams were more than legit.
Yes, Arbor Prep went on to win a Class C state title.
But 51 points?
“We knew we had talent. We knew we had the pieces,” McDevitt said. “We just didn’t know how it’d all come together.”
Columbia bounced back in the fourth game, beating Hillsdale 63-14, and then cruised past Onsted 55-22 in a contest McDevitt said was the “light bulb game.”
After those two wins, the Golden Eagles went on to win 13 more in a row, ending the regular season with a 17-3 final record and a 14-0 mark in the Lenawee County Conference standings.
“Really, it speaks a lot to the girls and what they were able to accomplish,” McDevitt said. “They believed in themselves and the hard work. There was never any panic.”
As for that fifth game, the win against Onsted?
“It may not have been the absolute best defensive game, but it was something I saw,” McDevitt said. “That night, for some reason, we played team defense. We challenged shots. We rebounded. We communicated. We saw what the potential was on the defensive end. They bought in from there on out.”
McDevitt said having players like Chelsea Palmer didn’t hurt.
Palmer set program records for points in a season (425), rebounds in a season (310) while also averaging four blocks per game.
“But this isn’t a game where one player can carry a team,” McDevitt said. “She certainly helped, though.”
Columbia closed the season 20-4, finally falling in a regional semifinal by a 49-48 count to Flat Rock in the state playoffs.
The 20 wins was a program record.
“I wish it was a magic formula I could figure out every year,” McDevitt said. “To me, every coach has strengths and weaknesses. You can never figure everything out. I think I was able to recognize the strengths and talents of this group. I think we were able to figure out how to put those pieces together. The girls bought in and did a great job.”
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.