Meet the Freshmen: LMU’s Devin Wyatt

When the LMU Lions decided to make a switch at the head coaching position, a good amount of the projected 2014-2015 roster jumped ship. Six players left the team – Gabe Levin, Max Heller, Blair Mendy, Nick Stover, C.J. Blackwell and Ben Dickinson – and three players from the 2014 class were released from their letter of intents – Kyron Cartwright, Elijah Stewart, Alex Rifkind and Marquis Godfrey– upon the hiring of Mike Dunlap as the Lions head coach.

Although many players left, one of Max Good’s recruits for the 2014 season stayed. Devin Wyatt, a 6-foot-7 forward out of DeSoto, Tex., honored his initial pledge to LMU and will be a freshmen for the Lions this season.

At DeSoto High School

Wyatt’s reputation as a player in high school was as a long, lanky shot blocker who was still developing on the offensive end of the floor.

However, Wyatt did not need to do anything else for his team, as DeSoto has a great reputation as a basketball program in the Dallas area, recording a 66-9 record in Wyatt’s final two seasons at the school. DeSoto and Wyatt made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the 5A Texas Region I playoffs his junior season, and Wyatt earned first-team All-District honors at the conclusion of the season.

Due to a leg injury, Wyatt was able to play much his senior season, but LMU still honored his letter of intent regardless.

Wyatt’s performance in the 2012 High School OT Invitational most likely got a lot of college coaches attention, where Wyatt blocked a breathtaking 12 shots to send his team to the tournaments finals. Here is some video footage of the performance:

Speaking of Video, here is Wyatt’s highlight tape.

Impact at LMU

There is the saying that defense wins championships, and that is fairly true; but the mantra “defense earns playing time” might be more accurate.

Defense is Wyatt’s bread and butter, and if he shows he can lock down Division-I athletes, he will see the court right away for Dunlap’s squad.  However, without an offensive skill set, playing time might be limited, but it will be available if he can defend.

The problem most foresee with Wyatt at this stage at his height. Based on his high school tape, Wyatt patrolled mostly in the paint on defense. Wyatt will need to become accustomed to defending players out to the perimeter in order to play the four position in the WCC, where many power forwards are “stretch fours.”

Nonetheless, with Wyatt’s defensive acumen, he could see playing time right away for the LMU Lions.