After Sharing Maple Syrup and Hockey, Canada Continues Giving with Gift of Devoe Joseph

For the most part, Devoe Joseph was a Gopher from the second he stepped into Williams Arena during his official recruiting trip to Minneapolis. Greeted by hundreds of students chanting “œWe want Joseph!” in a quickly filling Barn, he turned with a big smile and acknowledged his soon-to-be hometown fans. Citing that moment in several recruiting articles written about him, Joseph felt welcomed and at home at the University of Minnesota.

Having beat out heavyweight programs like Kansas and Texas for his services, Minnesota expected a lot from Joseph right from the beginning. In many cases, he delivered. His jump shot, which launches the ball into the stratosphere before whispering through the nylon, developed throughout the season. Just as importantly, Joseph’s quick hands and willingness to play tenacious, man defense in the full court endeared him to both Coach Smith and the Gopher faithful alike.

Going into this season, expectations are for Joseph to play an expanded role on the team on both ends of the floor and further develop the skills that earned him such notoriety coming out of high school that Gopher fans were already chanting his name before he ever wore his Minnesota jersey.

GH: Last year you showed that you could play both the point guard and off-guard position. Have you discussed which spot you’ll play this year with Coach Smith?

DJ: I think I’m going to play both a little bit, like last year, but maybe I’ll play more two than I played last year because we’ve added Justin Cobbs, who’s a spectacular point guard. I think it’ll be good.

GH: In your opinion, which one of the guard spots are you better at or maybe better suited for?

DJ: I feel like I’m kinda like the in-between guy. I can be a shooting guard, but also bring up the ball. I don’t feel like I’m better at one or the other. I just feel like I’m a basketball player who can play both positions.

GH: You played both as a freshman pretty well, but I’m sure there are things you wished you’d known about the transition from high school to college basketball. If you could go back and tell yourself one thing to be prepared for, what would it be?

DJ: I felt like, as a freshman, especially as a point guard, you have to be able to run your team. Even as a freshman, you still have to be a leader as a point guard. When you’re first coming in, you’re trying to make everybody happy, trying to do the right things on the plays and stuff. It’s just a big transition. In high school, you might come down and just shoot it, you know, pull up. But in college you’ve got a lot of great players around you. You’ve gotta make sure everyone’s getting their touches, you’re controlling the tempo, running the plays the coaches want and also playing great defense at the same time.

GH: What was it like to come out of high school and take the floor at the Barn? What is it like to experience that atmosphere for the first time?

DJ: It’s a great atmosphere. It sends shivers through my body sometimes. I remember the first time I came out in the Barn and heard the band playing. It was an amazing feeling. It’s just great. The Barn, it’s like nothing you’ll ever experience.

GH: Is that a feeling you could ever prepare the freshman on the team for?

DJ: You can’t prepare them for it. Especially when you try to explain it. When the Barn gets crazy, you can’t explain that to them.

GH: Speaking of the Barn, what can the people who pack this place this year expect from the Gophers?

DJ: I expect this team to play hard. I know that we have a lot of talent on this team and I think that all of us are setting high expectations to go far this year. We made the tournament last year and we feel like we can be a great team. We’re all working hard. When you come to the Barn, I expect us to be playing really hard and trying to get wins every night.

GH: What did the team, or maybe what did you, learn from that game experience in the NCAA Tournament last year?

DJ: That it takes a lot more once you get there. It’s not just getting there. You gotta get there and win games and it takes a lot more to do that.

GH: What’s the one thing you’ve improved on the most since you left the floor after that NCAA Tournament game?

DJ: I worked a lot on my shooting and my ball handling. I also did some speed training trying to get a little faster and quicker.

GH: I can’t let you go without asking ““ is your little brother going to come to Minnesota and join you as a Golden Gopher?

DJ: [laughs] We’re working it”¦ we’ll see.

Previous article: Iverson Looks to Become Latest Small Town Big Man to Shine for Gophers

Previous article: Cobbs Comes to Minnesota Admist Rising Expectations

Previous article: Sampson III looks to “Create His Own Light” as a Sophomore

Talk about the 2009-10 Gopher Basketball team on Tubby’s Barn message board.