« Men’s Basketball 2010-11

Devon Beitzel

School
Northern Colorado
Position
Guard
Major
Finance and Accounting
PPG
21.4
RPG
3.3
APG
1.8

Classroom

Beitzel maintains a 3.7 GPA in finance and accounting from the nationally renowned Monfort College of Business and in February 2011 was selected to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America Men’s Basketball First Team, becoming just the second Academic All-American in Northern Colorado men’s basketball history and the first in more than 40 years. Last year he was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team, and he’s a three-time honoree to the CoSIDA District 7 Academic All-District team. Beitzel has already lined up his post-basketball life with a job at national accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Character

The pressure Beitzel faces on the basketball court pales in comparison to the challenges he has confronted throughout his life. Both of his natural parents battled drug addiction and related problems while he was a youth, and, while Beitzel was in middle and high school, both spent some time in halfway houses or prison. Beitzel finished his high school career in his hometown of Lafayette, Colo., after he was taken in by a local family, and he graduated from high school with honors and as one of the best scorers in Colorado high school history. On the court, his leadership has guided Northern Colorado from a program that finished dead-last in the RPI in 2006 (his redshirt season) to a school-record 25 victories in 2010 and a quarterfinal appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).

Community

Beitzel has participated in numerous community-service projects in his time at Northern Colorado, including reading stories and tutoring at various elementary schools in and around the Greeley, Colo., community. He also participated last spring in a Light the Night Walk benefitting cancer research. He’s currently embarking on a mentorship program at a local school, where he hopes to serve as a role model for youths who are currently dealing with parents in prison or with drug problems, as he did growing up.

Competition

Beitzel is on pace to finish his career at Northern Colorado as one of the best shooters in school history. His 44 percent mark from three-point range in 2010 was the fourth-best mark in all of Division I, and he earned All-Big Sky Conference Second Team honors in 2010 despite missing the final seven games of the season with a foot injury. He also earned All-Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention honors in 2009 and owns the Northern Colorado record for field goals and free throws made in a single game.