It’s not uncommon for an athlete to be able to look back at their life and point to someone or some experience responsible for getting them started in sports. Usually, that shout-out goes to parents, a coach, or even a local recreation program. For Devan Porter-Wilson, a senior on Shaw High School’s varsity basketball team, that credit, however, goes to a very unlikely source.
“Chuck E. Cheese,” Porter-Wilson said with a laugh.
The story goes that as a youngster, Porter-Wilson was taken to the beloved kid-oriented eating establishment where he promptly began making baskets using the facility’s basketball goal. Tall for his age, the little guy was so good shooting the ball his parents recognized he might be ready for a more organized field of play.
A local YMCA recreational league for youth was his next step in that direction. Porter-Wilson developed such an intense love of the game that he literally bounced a basketball every chance he got.
“I played ball in the house and practiced dribbling everywhere,” Porter-Wilson said, smiling broadly. “I would go in the living room and bounce it on the wood floors. They had to take the ball out of my bedroom because I kept bouncing it in there.”
He attended one year of middle school at St. Anne Catholic School where he played basketball before moving to Fort Middle School. Under the direction of the coaching staff at Fort, Porter-Wilson fine-tuned his basketball skills. Standing 6’4” today, Porter-Wilson acknowledged he has always been one of the tallest people, if not the tallest person, in his class. His height was a great advantage on the court in middle school, but he needed guidance to learn to use all of his natural talent to play the game.
When Porter-Wilson came to Shaw as a freshman, he played on three basketball teams that year. He saw most of his playing time on the freshman league and junior varsity teams. The intelligent and friendly athlete has been gifted with an incredible capacity to remember details. He only played in three varsity games as a freshman, but Porter-Wilson can recite exactly which games and what he did in each of them.
For his efforts on the court his first year as a Raider, Porter-Wilson was named the MVP for the Freshman team and also for the JV. He moved on as a sophomore to become a starter for the varsity and has been a valuable team member for the Shaw boys basketball program.
“Devan is a well-rounded player who can do everything pretty well, but I think he may be the best passer that I have ever coached,” said Terry White, head boys basketball coach. “More importantly, he is just a genuinely good person and a credit to his parents.”
Last year the Shaw Raiders had a 19-10 season record and made it to the first round of the playoffs, where they lost by only three points. Coach White’s team had a load of talent in its ranks and has returned six players for this season. Porter-Wilson, a team captain, is one of six seniors on the team and is the starting power forward. His contributions to the team as a junior included 6.5 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game.
In order to improve his game for his senior year, Porter-Wilson attended a couple of summer camps including one at Mercer University. He sees his strengths show up in rebounds and passing, but because he wants to be better in every area, he is working on shooting from the 3-point range and dribbling moves.
Porter-Wilson is a two-sport athlete at Shaw. In addition to basketball, he plays football and just came off his final season as a defensive end for the Raiders. He didn’t get too excited about football until he played the sport at Fort Middle School. Coaches there worked with him and gave him the idea that he could be as good at two sports as he was in just one.
“The coach made me catch the football every day,” Porter-Wilson said. “I kept dropping the ball, so every day he made me catch the ball over and over again. Basketball just came to me. I didn’t have to work at it, but with football I had to develop those skills over time. I loved football after that, and it was just fun to play it.”
Football became so enjoyable for him that Porter-Wilson attracted attention from a few colleges. He is weighing his options and wants to see how his basketball season goes, since some schools approached him for that sport as well.
“I don’t care which sport I play in college,” Porter-Wilson said. “They are both equal to me.”
While he loves sports, his priorities are in the right place, and Porter-Wilson said his greatest goal is to make his parents proud of him. His second goal is all about basketball.
“Our team to win region,” Porter-Wilson said. “We are going to win our region, then win state. We should have gone further last year. We can do it. We’ve got the talent and the coaching. It really is possible.”
Waiting a moment and breaking out a big grin, Porter-Wilson said, “I got that feeling.”
Columbus Valley/ December 2016
Devan Porter-Wilson
Shaw High School
Columbus, Georgia
Written by: Beth Welch
Photos by: George McDuffie
Porter-Wilson showed obvious respect when he spoke of his parents. He also appeared to have a good relationship with both of them and said his mom expects him to do his best. His dad was a high school and collegiate basketball athlete. Porter-Wilson said he can hear his mom and dad yelling in the stands over everyone else.
“My dad, he yells the loudest,” Porter-Wilson said. “You can hear him from the top of the stands. On the football field, I can hear him on the other side because he calls my name like 50 times. I listen to him because most of the time he is right.”
Laughing, the athlete said his dad didn’t stick with football in high school.
“I remind him of that pretty often,” he said with a smile.
