Class of 2015 guard makes most of big opportunity

FORT WAYNE - Devin Cannady had been waiting for the chance to perform on the stage he found last weekend.

Playing against Indiana Elite and star guards Jalen Coleman and Hyron Edwards at the Crossroads Challenge in Fishers, the Class of 2015 guard from Mishawaka scored 41 points and propelled his MBA team to an upset victory.

He did so in front of a couple of Big Ten head coaches in Matt Painter and John Beilein and several assistant coaches from high-major programs.

Since, assistant coaches from Purdue, Tennessee and Boston College have contacted Cannady, as did Beilein.

"I couldn't wait to play Indiana Elite, because of their players and their rankings and the fact that their team is so good," Cannady said Thursday evening at the GRBA Nationals at Spiece Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne. "I knew there would be top colleges there and it was a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills and hopefully get myself on their radar with what I did."

"For most of them, it was their first time seeing me play, because of the Indiana Elite players. Tennessee is trying to get me down on Aug. 31 (for a visit) and Purdue is trying to find a date to get me back on campus."

Michigan is also telling Cannady it would like to visit for a football game.

As for Purdue, Cannady has long been on its radar. That he played the way he did in front of Painter - it was the Boilermaker coach's first time seeing him - very well could have knocked him up a peg or two in its coaches' eyes.

"(Gary) put Coach (Jack) Owens on the phone, because he wanted to tell me how impressed he was from the game," Cannady said of Owens, who was also present in Fishers last weekend. "I'd actually first heard from Purdue about a year ago at this time, because (GRBA) was the first time they got to see me play. Coach Gary said I didn't need to impress him, but he wanted the other coaches to see me and now they just want to get me back on campus to start the process I guess."

The 6-foot-1 guard from Marian High School holds offers from Northern Illinois and IUPUI thus far, with serious interest from Akron and Central Michigan prior to last weekend. He's being recruited as a combo guard.

"I think schools like me more at point but they know I can be versatile even though I'm kind of restricted by my height, because shooting guards are usually 6-4 to 6-7" said Cannady, who's also played football up to this point in his high school career. "It's mostly point guard, but I think I can go either way."

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