Devin Ebanks life and biography

Devin Ebanks (born October 28, 1989 in Long Island City, New York) is a NBA basketball player selected 43rd overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a sophomore forward at West Virginia University.

Career

As a sophomore at Bishop Loughlin High in Brooklyn, New York, Ebanks averaged 18 points, six rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. In his junior season, at St. Thomas More School in Connecticut, he averaged 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. In his senior season, Ebanks recorded an average of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game at More. He scored over 1,000 points in his two seasons at St. Thomas More.

Ebanks received various honors while a prep player in high school. These honors included the Jordan Brand Classic All-Star Game in New York, playing AAU basketball, and being one of 30 players selected for the 2007 USA Basketball Development Festival at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While at the camp, Ebanks averaged 28.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Ebanks was widely regarded as one of the top high school players in the nation by scouting services, ranking 11th overall and 13th overall in the class by Rivals.com and Scout.com, respectively. He was being pursured by various colleges, such as Indiana, Memphis, Rutgers, and Texas. Ebanks originally signed with the Indiana Hoosiers, but was released from his letter of intent after coach Kelvin Sampson was dismissed. Ebanks signed his letter of intent with Bob Huggins' West Virginia University.

Listed as one of the Top 15 impact freshman by Sports Illustrated coming into the 2008–2009 season, Ebanks began his campaign as a starter at forward in the 92–47 victory over Elon. Ebanks scored 9 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in his first collegiate game and start. In the following 86–54 win over Longwood, Ebanks scored 7 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. As the Mountaineers then defeated Delaware State to begin the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament, he scored 8 points and grabbed 4 boards. In the 87–68 win over Iowa, he totaled 7 points and 2 rebounds in fourteen minutes of playing time. West Virginia then lost to Kentucky 54–43, in which Ebanks scored 4 points and only had one rebound. In the following 80–78 win over Mississippi, Ebanks recorded no points but did have 3 boards and a blocked shot.

Ebanks totaled a then season-high 17 rebounds to go along with his 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in the win over Cleveland State. In the following 68–65 loss to #22 Davidson in Madison Square Garden, Ebanks led the team with 17 rebounds and also had 13 points. He then followed up in the Duquesne win with his third double-double: 15 points and 10 rebounds. However, his run was ended as he missed the majority of the Miami University victory with an injury.

Ebanks bounced back with 9 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Radford. In the 76–48 win over Ohio State, Ebanks had 10 points and 5 rebounds. In the following win over Seton Hall, Ebanks had 10 points and 9 rebounds. He played 25 minutes of the loss to #1 UConn, however he only had 4 points and 2 rebounds; in the following loss to Marquette Ebanks had 8 points and 3 rebounds. In the win over rival Marshall, he totaled 12 points and 4 rebounds, then 5 points and 10 rebounds in the win over USF. In the following win over Georgetown, Ebanks had 9 points and 7 rebounds. In the loss to Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl, Ebanks had 9 points and 5 rebounds. In the following win over St. John's, he had 10 points and 8 rebounds.

In the 69–63 loss to Louisville, Ebanks had 14 points and 6 rebounds. As the Mountaineers lost to Syracuse, he recorded 9 points and 9 rebounds. In the 86–59 win over Providence, he had 13 points and 6 rebounds. In the second loss to Pittsburgh, he totaled a season-high 16 points with 7 rebounds. He followed the seaosn-high point-performance with a double-double in the victory over Villanova – 16 points and 10 rebounds. In the 79–68 win over Notre Dame, Ebanks recorded 11 points and 9 rebounds. In the following win over Rutgers, Ebanks had another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ebanks had a consecutive double-double in the loss to Cincinnati with 12 points and 14 rebounds. He then had 10 points and 7 rebounds in a victory over South Florida. Ebanks had his 9th double-double of his rookie campaign in the win over DePaul with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Ebanks ended the regular season against #6 Louisville with a season-high 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Following the 62–59 loss, Ebanks was named to the All-Big East rookie team.

In the second round of the Big East Tournament against Notre Dame, Ebanks scored 7 points and had 5 assists to go with his season-high 18 rebounds. In the following round, defeating the #2 Pittsburgh Panthers 74–60, Ebanks had a season-high 20 points with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. In the semifinals, he led the team to overtime against #20 Syracuse, setting a new career-high with 22 points and he also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the 74–69 loss. Ebanks was named to the first team All-Big East Tournament squad with his average of 16 points and 10 rebounds during the tenure. However, the Mountaineers lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Dayton, 68–60, with Ebanks scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

For his true freshman season, Ebanks averaged 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his starting role. He had season-highs of 22 points against Syracuse and 18 rebounds against Notre Dame. Ebanks finished the year with double-point figures in 12 of his last 13 games with six double-doubles in those games. After some speculation, Ebanks has announced he will return for his sophomore season.

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