Lafayette – You need to believe in Devon Beitzel.
Believe it when you see the 6-foot senior guard on the Centaurus basketball team run defenses ragged and calmly pour in 30 points like he was boiling water. He does it nearly every game.
Believe it when you listen to Beitzel talk about the things he wants to accomplish. He has a 4.04 grade-point average and enjoys science and business.
And believe it when you find out Beitzel is wise beyond his years when it comes to making life-altering decisions. He made the choice four years ago to move out and live with his best friend’s family in an effort to escape a helter-skelter childhood.
“Any more it’s hard to find anything he does that should surprise me,” says Mike Leahy, coach of the Warriors (11-5), ranked No. 5 in The Denver Post/9News Class 4A poll.
His life
Beitzel’s life came to a crossroads when he was a freshman. His parents had divorced and his father was moving to Granby and his mother to Littleton, destinations that meant Devon would have to leave friends and teammates he had grown up with in Lafayette.
According to Devon’s mother, Michellene Sampson, life in the Beitzel household had gotten out of hand through a spiraling trend of substance abuse, debt and personal issues.
Devon was allowed to pick where he wanted to live and he chose option C – the Louth family, home to single mother Joan and her three sons, Zach, Tyler and Brent. Although painful, Sampson knows Devon made the correct decision.
“We’ve got to believe in our children,” Sampson said. “A lot of times, parents are too wrapped up in themselves and their image to pay attention to their children. That’s why I gave him the choice and I backed him up on that because I knew he could make a better choice at the time than I could.”
Sampson said she hurts every day for her family and that sometimes it’s too painful to go to Devon’s games. Even farther away is Devon’s 16-year-old brother, who lives with family in Erie.
Devon said he originally thought his mother would move back and admits the strain of living without his family has made him consider switching schools. But his current bonds can’t be easily broken.
“I look around. I have great people looking out for me,” Beitzel said. “If I left, I’d feel like I’m letting everybody down.”
When Devon joined the Louth family, Joan gave her boys just one rule: Treat Devon like family. She said the four act like brothers, playing basketball and Xbox and having the occasional fight, and support each other.
Joan says Devon is a great kid and loves him dearly – just like his mother, who draws strength from seeing her son thrive in a stable environment.
“If there’s anybody I’ve got to live for, it’s my two boys,” Sampson said. “I know they love me and I love them. I want to see them prosper. Life is good, and I envy their lives.”
That view of the big picture is not lost on her eldest son.
“It kind of taught me to put everything in perspective,” Beitzel said of his life. “Basketball is really just a game. I love playing it and all, but there are more important things to life.”
His game
In transition basketball, which sometimes resembles a medieval battle scene, Beitzel is the hero slicing his way through chaos. It’s almost hypnotizing to watch the rerun of layups and leaners that leave opposing coaches shaking their heads and screaming for timeouts.
Beitzel is tops in 4A in scoring, averaging just fewer than 27 points a game. A two-year captain in his fourth season of varsity basketball, Beitzel notched his 1,000th career point in February of his junior season.
He attacks the hoop with speed and can finish or pass with either hand. When teams get back in time to clog the paint, Beitzel’s pull-up jump shot is silky, quick and accurate.
So how do you stop Beitzel?
“Hope he breaks his ankle?” Jim Montijo, the coach of Skyline League rival Ranum, said jokingly.
Although Beitzel’s gunning style has a certain gym-rat, rec- league charm, his ability to consistently hurt teams that game- plan to stop him is a tribute to his skill and tenacity. That stuff rubs off on his teammates, who rebound like bigger players and knock down clutch shots when Beitzel draws a crowd.
“He actually is probably the fastest kid I’ve ever coached with a basketball in his hands,” Leahy said. “A lot of guys are fast on the floor, but they can’t take a basketball with them.”
Regis University and Colorado Mines have offered Beitzel scholarships, but his intention all along has been to wait until the season is over to “make an informed decision.” Other schools showing interest include Wyoming, Wichita State, Creighton and James Madison.
Beitzel’s highlight this season came in a 65-64 win over Longmont. He scored a career-best 45 points as his way of avenging two losses to the Trojans last season, including one that knocked the Warriors out of the playoffs. Beitzel said the victory felt especially good and that he was lucky to “have the hot hand.”
Two days later, Beitzel poured in 35 points as the Warriors blew out D’Evelyn. A play that stood out was when Beitzel dived for a loose ball in the paint, rolled and popped up with the ball, then quickly shot for a basket – seemingly all in one motion.
“It’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen,” D’Evelyn coach Troy Pachner said.
Shake your head all you want, but just believe it.
