devaugn peace commits

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

DeVaughn Peace Commits to UC Irvine--(Oct. 28, 2000)

DeVaughn Peace (6'-3" Sr. SG/PG) from Division III State Champion Bishop Montgomery committed to UC Irvine last week, and we didn't want to let the commitment go without saying something about it, so better late than never. According to the LA Times, Peace averaged 10 ppg, five rebounds and six assists a game. The LA Times website also had a quote from someone named "Doug Butler" (actually it must have been from Doug Mitchell, who is really the head coach at Bishop Montgomery, and who also last year was named "CIF Coach of the Year" in Division III CIF, an award which Mitchell was presented at the Southern Section Division III-AA finals when Bishop Montgomery won the title). The purpose of the quote though kind of summed up Peace's contributions and role on the Bishop Montgomery team, giving things a little perspective: "DeVaughn doesn't get as much attention because those two [Errick and Derrick Craven, who have committed to USC] are such exciting players," Butler [sic] said. "But DeVaughn is the guy who does the dirty work for us."

We've watched DeVaughn over the last three years, and each year he's gotten better and stronger, and he's really improved just about every aspect of his game with the constant conditioning that Bishop Montgomery puts its players through, including a vigorous weight training program which extends even during the season. Last season we spoke with Izzy Metz, who at the time was an assistant at Bishop Montgomery (he has since returned to coaching at his alma mater, a D-III school in upstate New York) about that aspect of Bishop Montgomery's system, and he told us, "Yes, Coach Mitchell believes in having the guys weight train throughout the season. And if you think about it, it just makes sense," Metz told us. "Most programs, especially most high schools, use weight training only in the pre-season. Guys then get into the season and end up playing two, sometimes three games a week, using real high bursts of energy, but for short periods of time. Then they practice hard or light in between but really don't continue to keep up whatever muscle tone they were able to build and establish at the beginning of the season. And the result," Metz said, "is that by the middle of the season, a lot of players have actually lost weight and are weaker than when the seasons started."

But that's not true for DeVaughn, not the Cravens, and not Kenny D'Oyen, and not Fred Washington, the guys who play in a five guard rotatation for the Knights, with usually three of them on the floor at once. All of them are solid, both skill-wise and physically, and they manage to maintain that fitness and strength throughout the season. Which is something they'll need to do again this year if they hope to repeat as State Champions.