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Augsburg alum Devean George '99 to return to Dallas Mavericks, signs 2-year deal AUGSBURG'S DEVEAN GEORGE PAGE -- CLICK HERE
After spending his first seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers, George spent the last two seasons with the Mavericks, where he continued his role as a reliable swingman off the bench. In 53 regular-season games in 2007-08, George averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game. In his career (542 games, 87 starts), George is averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game. The Mavericks officially announced their agreement with George on Monday (8/25), though published reports were online last week. The team did not officially release terms of the deal, though George's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Dallas Morning News in a story last Wednesday that the deal was for two years worth a total of about $4 million, with a free-agency option for George after the 2008-09 season. "Getting Devean back in a Mavs uniform has been a goal of ours all summer," new Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said in the team's release. "His experience and ability to run the floor and play and defend multiple positions will be a great asset for us this season." Dallas finished 51-31 in 2007-08, but lost in five games to New Orleans in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Avery Johnson was relieved of his coaching duties with the team in April, and Carlisle, a former coach with Detroit and Indiana, was hired by the Mavericks in May. According to a Dallas Morning News blog post on Wednesday, Carlisle lobbied for the team to retain George, who was a free agent. Bartelstein told the newspaper that George had "serious discussions with 'six to eight' other teams," according to the blog post. According to an e-mail published in a Wednesday story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas owner Mark Cuban wrote: "We are are excited to have DGeorge back. His ability to defend multiple positions and to get out and run will be of increasing value this year." In 1999, the Minneapolis native (Benilde-St. Margaret HS) became the first Division III player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, when the Los Angeles Lakers made him the 23rd overall selection. He became one of only seven players in NBA history to be a member of championship squads in each of his first three seasons in the league, as his Lakers squads won three straight titles (2000-02). He signed as a free agent with the Mavericks in 2006.
He finished his college career with 2,258 career points and 868 career rebounds, both second in school history. While playing in just 96 career games, he fell only 13 points short of the school's scoring record, held by Brian Ammann (1981-85), of 2,271 in 106 games (21.4 per game). George finished his career with a 23.5 points-per-game average, best in school history. Dan Anderson (1961-65) holds the school's career rebounding record with 1,211 (11.5 per game). George finished his career with a 9.0 rebounds-per-game average. George's college jersey number, 40, was retired by Augsburg in 2003. He wore No. 3 while with the Lakers, but returned to his old college number when he joined the Mavericks. He is one of only seven players who played Division III basketball to see playing time in the NBA, and he remains the only player who played Division III basketball to ever play in the NBA Finals [Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan '77, Seattle in the finals 1978-79) and Terry Porter (Wisconsin-Stevens Point '85, Portland in the finals 1990-92) played at what are now NCAA Division III schools, but those schools were members of the NAIA during those players' careers.]. George was the third Augsburg player to ever be drafted by an NBA team (Augsburg was an NAIA school prior to 1985), and the second to play professionally at the sport's highest level. Anderson was drafted in the 12th round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1965. He later played in the ABA with the New Jersey Americans (later New Jersey Nets) from 1967-70. Greg Boone '81, who played for the Auggies from 1979-81, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a 10th-round pick in 1981, but never played in the NBA. To return to Augsburg Men's Basketball, click here To return to Augsburg Athletics, click here Augsburg College, a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. This is
the official web site for Augsburg College athletics. |
MINNEAPOLIS (8/25/08) -- Augsburg College alum Devean George '99 will continue his pro basketball career, after reaching a free-agent agreement with the Dallas Mavericks to return to the club for his 10th NBA season, according to published reports.
In his career at Augsburg, George led the Auggies to two MIAC regular-season championships and berths in the NCAA Division III national playoffs (1997-98 and 1998-99), earning conference MVP honors both times. He earned multiple Division III All-American honors his senior season. He was named a second-team All-American by D3hoops.com his junior season and a first-team All-American his senior year.