Sometimes things fall apart so other things can fall into place. Devon Stedman, a 20-year-old native of Ottawa, Ont. and a rookie on the Dalhousie men’s basketball team, knows that better than most people.
In 2009, Stedman’s future in basketball looked bright. One of the country’s most highly sought-after high school players at the time, Stedman decided to commit to his hometown Carleton University for the 2010-2011 season.
But a devastating injury stood in his way. While training with Ontario’s team for the 2009 Canada Summer Games, Stedman tore his ACL, MCL and his meniscus.
“I rehabbed for a year with the hope of playing for Carleton in time for my first year of university but my knee wasn’t getting healthy enough, so I de-committed from Carleton and switched to Dal,” he says.
The decision to leave Carleton was not an easy one for Stedman.
Missing his opportunity to play for the powerhouse Carleton Ravens—winners of eight of the last 10 national championships—was crushing, but the fear that his playing days were behind him was even more defeating.
“There was a point where I thought my basketball days were over,” Stedman says. “I felt like I wanted to move on and get out of Ottawa for university and Dal seemed to be the best fit for me.”
Enrolled in Dal’s bachelor of management program, Stedman’s first two years of university life provided him with more free time than training with a high-level basketball program ever would have allowed him.
But as Stedman’s knee slowly healed, he kept himself active by playing intramural basketball. This past spring, he began to think that his elusive goal of playing varsity basketball was not out of reach after all.
“After March of last year I sent [coach John Campbell] an email asking if I could try out for the Tigers,” Stedman says.
This season that goal became a reality, as Stedman was given a new lease on his basketball life.
“It was truly an awesome feeling when I made the team. All of my hard work had finally paid off.”
Dal’s first exhibition games this season were played at a tournament hosted, ironically, by Carleton. After years of frustration and adversity, Stedman had come full circle.
“Walking onto the court where I spent thousands of hours practicing while wearing a different jersey was a cool feeling,” he says.
“It felt like fate.”
Stedman’s play this season has not gone unnoticed. The rookie is second on the team in total rebounds, and sits 24th in the league in points per game. His coach knows how valuable Stedman’s services have been.
“Devon’s added a lot to our team,” Campbell says. “Offensively, he can score and create his own shots, but he also does a great job setting up opportunities for his teammates. Defensively, he has a good understanding of the team game which really helps our guys communicate better with one another.”
Though Stedman has made significant strides in his recovery, he admits that his knee still bothers him from time to time. The pain has been evidenced by a cut in his minutes in recent games.
Stedman’s ability to play through the pain sets an example for every one of his teammates, says fellow rookie Matt Morrison.
“Seeing what Devon has overcome and what he’s battling through provides extra motivation for everyone else to play that much harder,” he says.
When Stedman realized he was healthy enough to play again, he knew that going back to Ottawa and playing for Carleton was an option. In the end, his newfound life in Halifax was too much to sacrifice.
“Carleton could be great, but it’s not worth giving up everything I have going for me right now at Dal,” he says.
“I have no regrets.”
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