DLaw The Baller
February 5, 2023
I know we all mostly keep up with the sports around here and keep up with the records of our teams, but do we really know all the insight and the behind the scenes of all of the hard work that goes on with these teams? The grind is harder than you think. This week we are focusing on athlete Devin Lawyer.
Devin is a sophomore at Palestine High School. He plays OPH Boys Basketball and OPH Football. The only high school team Devin has ever known has been OPH, but when he was in grade school basketball was only Pal-Hut. The first thing we ask Devin is how he feels going from competing with Oblong in Basketball just to turn around and play with them in football and his transition from Pal-Hut to OPH in basketball. He tells us, “All sports around here have always had some of the best seasons and some of the worst, but with three schools coming together, it can expand the opportunities we have for the town’s future sports success,” meaning although all three school have had good seasons and bad, why not have good and bad together as one.
Devin has played an array of sports throughout his life, and it was hard for him to find his sport because at a young age Devin moved a lot, so it was hard for him to find hobbies that he would stick to. After coming to Palestine, he played sports from, soccer, baseball, basketball and football until he finally found what he loved and what he was good at and that happened to be both football and basketball, both of which he has played since he could walk.
If anyone has seen Devin destroy on the court, you know he wears the infamous number of 23. I’m sure you all think that this decision can be a no brainer, but a lot of thinking goes into picking the perfect number. At first Devin thought he wanted to wear the number 13 but his teammates were giving him a hard time because 13 happens to be a very unlucky number. As he searched around for more numbers, he spotted the number 23, and the longer he stared at that number, the more he thought about what it could mean. Then it hit him. The number 23 is the number of Michael Jordan and Lebron James. He was hesitant to pick it up in case someone else wanted that number, but then he heard his coach from behind say, “Don’t be scared of it– pick it up.” Devin saw that as a challenge and chose the jersey.
I’m sure when we were all little, we had the dreams of becoming the star football player, or an NBA star, but for Devin these dreams are not a joke. When trying to find a career path, Devin has been at a standstill. He has trouble finding things that really interest him, but there is just one thing that he thinks he would love to do for the rest of his life, and that is basketball. Devin’s ultimate dream is to become an NBA player. He knows that this is very difficult since there are so many people who may work even harder than Devin to do the same things, and unfortunately, only about 500 people get to play in the league.
Because of this, he has somewhat settled to become at least a professional basketball player and work his goals from there. But he works his rear end off to get what he wants, and we wish him the best of luck in becoming better.
Some may know and some may not, but Devin really works non-stop. He plays for an AAU basketball league coached by Harry Marshall, an all summer thing nearly that keeps him travelling every weekend to Bloomington and further to practice and play in multiple games a day. Halfway through last summer’s season, Devin began to feel some pain in his left ankle. If you’re an athlete you know that injuries are nothing you can take lightly. Devin went to get this ankle checked out, and after being sent to many different specialists one doctor came to the conclusion that Devin had an old fracture that did not heal correctly. This fracture caused a bone in his foot to chip off and cause excruciating pain in his tendon. Devin was scared that he would have to get surgery to get the bone fragment removed but over time and after lots of medication and praying, the bone fragment no longer caused as much pain. This injury was still not solved though; hit after hit the ankle just continues to hurt more and more and overall, there is really nothing anyone can think of to help it. This really puts a weight on Devin’s self-esteem; he thinks that his goals cannot be reached any longer because of one injury. But I think we all know that Devin is good at hiding his pain, and he is great at what he does, so to you Devin, keep up the good work and never let anyone or anything let you give up your dreams because they can come true– just keep working hard and keep doing what you’re doing. We all believe in you!
