University of Tennessee Athletics
Don DeVoe Named Tennessee's 2010 SEC Basketball Legend
March 09, 2010 | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2010
Former Tennessee head basketball coach Don DeVoe will represent Tennessee at the 2010 SEC Basketball Tournament in Nashville this week as the Vols' Basketball Legend. DeVoe will be among 12 former SEC coaches and players to be honored as "Legends of SEC Basketball," sponsored by Chick-fil-A, a program that began in 1999.
During his time as head coach at Tennessee from 1978-89, Don DeVoe led the Volunteers to a 204-137 overall record. Only the legendary Ray Mears won more games as UT's head basketball coach. DeVoe led the Vols to the 1982 SEC Championship as well as the 1979 SEC Tournament Championship. He led the Volunteers to their first ever Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1981. He produced a number of Tennessee greats, including All-America performers Reggie Johnson, Howard Wood, Dale Ellis and Tony White. DeVoe also coached UT to six NCAA Tournament appearances--including a school-record five straight from 1979-83. Through his coaching career, he led three different schools (also Virginia Tech and Navy) to the NCAA tournament, posting a career record of 510-383 (.571).
Others to be honored in the 2010 program include the following:
ALABAMA - Charles Cleveland, Forward, 1973-75 Cleveland was a three-time first-team All-SEC selection. He finished his career with 1,312 points in three seasons, 24th in Crimson Tide history. He averaged 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and had 271 assists in his career. During his senior season, he averaged 15.6 points and 3.9 assists per game. He also averaged 17.1 points per game as a junior. During his three seasons playing at Alabama, the Tide registered a 66-17 mark, the seventh best record in the nation during that span (1973-75). Cleveland also helped lead Alabama to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1975, scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds against Arizona State in the Tide's first round game. He scored a career-high 36 points against Mississippi State as a sophomore, a scoring effort that continues to rank in the school's all-time top 20 list.
ARKANSAS - Jim Counce, Forward, 1974-78 Counce was a four-year letterman from 1975-78 and an academic All-American in 1978. A member of Eddie Sutton's first recruiting class, he started in 1977 and '78, and usually guarded the opposing team's top scorer. The 1977 club went 26-2, including 16-0 in the Southwest Conference, and won SWC regular season and tournament championships. Arkansas earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1958 and ended the year with a No. 18 national ranking. In 1978, Arkansas went 32-4, won the SWC, finished the year ranked No. 5 and advanced to the Final Four. Counce averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds as a junior. As a senior, he led the team with 3.3 assists, was fifth with 4.2 points, fourth with 4.2 rebounds and third with 20 blocked shots. As an assistant coach under Sutton in 1981 and 1982, he helped those teams win SWC titles with each advancing in the NCAA Tournament. He earned his BA in chemistry in 1979, his MD from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1986, and is a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon in Northwest Arkansas.
AUBURN - Chuck Person, Forward, 1983-86 Person was a Basketball Weekly second-team All-American and NABC third-team All-American in 1986 as well as a Sporting News second-team All-American and McGregor third-team All-American in 1985. He was also a three-time first-team All-SEC selection from 1984-86. He is currently Auburn's all-time scoring leader with 2,311 points (without the 3-point shot). Person helped lead Auburn to its greatest run in the NCAA Tournament by reaching the Elite Eight in 1986 with wins over Arizona, No. 1 seed St. John's and fourth-seeded UNLV before falling to eventual National Champion Louisville. Person was the fourth pick overall in the 1986 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers and was named NBA Rookie-of-the-Year in 1986-87 after averaging 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He finished his 13-Year NBA career with 13,449 career points and 4,557 rebounds from 1986-2000 with the Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets and Seattle Supersonics. He also was a front office executive and an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers, an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings and currently is a special assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was named to the ESPN Silver Anniversary All-SEC team in 2004.
FLORIDA - Bob Emrick, Forward, 1954-57 The Captain of the 1956 and 1957 UF men's basketball squads, Bob Emrick left Florida as the school's all-time leading scorer, a mark that stood for 12 years (1,544 points). He also earned AP Second Team All-SEC honors in 1955 and Third Team honors in 1956. He still ranks sixth in UF history in career scoring average (17.0 ppg) and seventh in career rebounding average (9.5 rpg) and averaged a double-double in both 1955 (17.8 points /10.5 rebounds) and 1956 (17.8 points /10.4 rebounds). In his Gator career, he had three 30-point games including a career-high 36 points as a sophomore against LSU.
GEORGIA - Tom Brennan, Guard, 1969-71 Tom Brennan played his college basketball at the University of Georgia before achieving distinction first in the coaching profession and later as a popular broadcaster. Brennan, a native of Phillipsburg, N.J., lettered from 1969 until 1971 as a Bulldog under coach Ken Rosemond. He was named recipient of the team's Leadership Trophy as a senior. He served an assistant basketball coach at Villanova, Seton Hall and William & Mary before going to Yale as head coach for four seasons from 1982 until 1986. Brennan became head coach at the University of Vermont in 1986 where he remained until his retirement in 2005. His last four Catamount teams won the America East Conference championship and he was named conference coach of the year three times. His last two teams played in the NCAA Tournament and his 2005 NCAA Tournament team upset Big East Champion Syracuse in the first round. During and following his coaching career, he has been active in radio and television, serving as a studio and talk show host.
KENTUCKY - Joe B. Hall, Head Coach, 1972-85 The former Adolph Rupp assistant coached three Kentucky teams to the Final Four (1975, `78 and `84) and won the 1978 NCAA Championship, the school's fifth title and first in 20 seasons. As the UK head coach, Hall won National Coach of the Year honors in 1978 and four SEC Coach of the Year awards. He saw 23 players drafted during his 13-year tenure, five in the first round and he had seven players win All-America honors 11 times and nine Wildcats were voted All-SEC on 18 occasions. His record at Kentucky was 297 - 100, a 74.8 winning percentage. He coached the Wildcats to 10 NCAA berths and reaching the Final Four three times, the Elite Eight six times and the Sweet 16 seven times in his 13 year UK career. Also, his 1976 Kentucky team won the NIT title.
LSU - Ned Clark, Forward, 1952-55 A member of the 1953 NCAA Final Four team, Clark is one of just nine players in the history of LSU basketball to start on two SEC Championship teams in 1953 and 1954. Both teams were undefeated in the SEC (13-0 in 1953 and 14-0 in 1954). One of the top rebounders in the history of the program, his 998 rebounds in his 1952-55 career is fifth all-time, three of the players in front of him have their number retired at LSU. He is fourth in career rebound average at LSU with 11.8 rebounds per game. He was a member of the 1950s Team of the Decade chosen as part of the 2009 LSU Basketball Centennial.
OLE MISS - Cob Jarvis, Guard/Forward, 1951-54 In three varsity seasons with the Rebels, Cob Jarvis established 18 new school records and became the first Ole Miss player to gain first-team All-SEC recognition twice, as well as the first with All-SEC credentials in both basketball and baseball. The 6-foot-3 sharpshooter from Booneville, Miss., barely missed leading the SEC in scoring his junior season, finishing with a 23.2 average. He scored 1,313 career points before moving on to the coaching ranks. He served eight seasons as the Ole Miss head coach from 1969-76. He was inducted into the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and was named to Ole Miss' All-Century Team.
MISSISSIPPI STATE - Kermit Davis, Head Coach, 1970-77 After helping lead Mississippi State to a three-year composite record of 61-14 as a standout guard for Babe McCarthey's teams in the late 1950s, Kermit Davis later compiled a 91-91 career mark in seven seasons as the Bulldogs head coach. After taking over a team that went 6-18 overall and 3-15 in SEC play, Davis led MSU to a 15-10, 9-9 mark his first year at the helm and was named SEC Coach of the Year. His best season came in 1973-74 when he guided the Bulldogs to 16 victories overall and eight wins in SEC play. His teams captured the 1971 Alabama Classic, 1972 Pacemaker Classic and 1975 Dayton Invitational.
SOUTH CAROLINA - Melvin Watson, Guard, 1995-98 Melvin Watson was a four-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks from 1995-98. The 6-1, 195-pound guard from Charleston, S.C. played in 119 games during his collegiate career, scoring 1,424 points, which still ranks 13th in school history. He was a member of the 1995 SEC All-freshman team, and earned all-SEC honors in each of his final three seasons on the hardwood. He was named second-team All-SEC twice - 1996-97 and 1997-98. During a three-year stretch from 1996-98, the Gamecocks posted an impressive 66-28 record, including a 34-14 mark in the SEC. Watson helped lead South Carolina to its first SEC championship in 1997.
VANDERBILT - Ronnie McMahan, Guard, 1992-95 Ronnie McMahan is one of the most prolific scorers in Vanderbilt history, still ranking fourth in the all-time Commodore record book with 1,719 career points. He is also second in school history with 296 career three point baskets made. He was a mainstay on Vanderbilt's 1993 Southeastern Conference championship team and earned Associated Press and Coaches All-SEC Third Team in 1994 and AP and Coaches All-SEC Second Team in 1995. He currently is an assistant basketball coach and assistant dean of students at a Nashville high school.
