Devontae Shuler Named SEC Co-Player of the Week
Senior Guard Earns Honor for First Time in his Career
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – (Courtesy of Ole Miss Media Relations) After leading Ole Miss to a victory over No. 10 Tennessee and hitting the game-winning shot in a thrilling overtime win at Auburn, senior guard Devontae Shuler was named SEC Co-Player of the Week. The conference office announced Monday afternoon that Shuler and Missouri guard Dru Smith shared the weekly accolade.
Shuler earned the honor for the first time in his career, coming through in the clutch to lead Ole Miss to a pair of huge SEC victories last week. First, Shuler recorded team highs in points (15) and rebounds (7) to propel the Rebels to an upset victory over No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 2). Late in the second half, he went on his own 7-0 run to flip a three-point deficit into a four-point lead, one Ole Miss would not relinquish.
Shuler’s heroics continued Saturday (Feb. 6) as the senior guard hit the game-winning shot with 0.2 seconds to go in overtime at Auburn. Scoring a season-high 26 points, 23 of them coming in the second half and overtime, Shuler led a comeback in which the Rebels trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half. He also dished out a team-high four assists, grabbed six rebounds, and produced his ninth multi-steal game of the season. In the win over the Tigers, Shuler moved to fourth on the Ole Miss all-time list for career steals as well as cracked the career top 10 for three-pointers made.
On the season, Shuler leads Ole Miss in scoring (15.5 ppg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). The Irmo, South Carolina, native finds himself in the SEC’s top 10 in all three categories, while also ranking fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.0). He has produced six 20-point games throughout his senior campaign, including three in conference play.
Shuler and the Rebels will look to keep their winning ways going this week, returning home Wednesday to host No. 10 Missouri. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
