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When Army and Navy renew their rivalry in men's basketball for the 100th time Saturday, the milestone game will be a homecoming and a farewell for Navy coach Don DeVoe.
DeVoe announced earlier that this season, his 12th at Navy, would be his last. The regular season ends at West Point, where his coaching career began in 1965.
"There will be a lot of sentiment for me," says DeVoe of visiting Army. "It was a wonderful opportunity for me to get into coaching at such a young age."
Fresh from graduating from Ohio State, the 23-year-old DeVoe arrived to assist another young Buckeyes alum, Bob Knight. One of their players was Mike Krzyzewski, who also has won a few games as a coach.
Asked if he saw coaching in young Krzyzewski's future, DeVoe says, "I didn't really consider that. I do know Mike was a real smart player. He was always under control. . . . He was just a real solid leader."
DeVoe has directed more than a few victories himself, 511 in 31 years as a head coach. He led Navy to eight consecutive winning seasons that included three Patriot League tournament titles with accompanying NCAA tournament appearances. He also led Virginia Tech and Tennessee to the Big Dance.
But Navy's fortunes have declined the last three years. Thursday night, the Mids (4-22) ended a 13-game losing streak with a win at Lafayette. It's their only victory in the Patriot League.
"I've seen the program come full cycle," he says. "I take a great deal of pride in what we've been able to do, though the last three seasons have not been good."
But DeVoe, 62, makes it clear he isn't ready to give up coaching. "I'm retiring from the Naval Academy, not from coaching. Maybe another opportunity will come along," he says. "Bobby Knight had a losing season in his last year at Army before he went to Indiana, and Mike Krzyzewski's only losing season at Army was his last one before he went to Duke."
DeVoe says his successor should be someone who has service academy experience. That approach worked for the football team, which played in a bowl this year under the leadership of former Navy assistant Paul Johnson. A number of DeVoe's former staff members are working their way up through the profession, including Colgate head coach Emmett Davis, Michigan State assistant Doug Wojcik and Iowa State assistant Fred Quartlebaum.
Meanwhile, DeVoe isn't ready to give up on this team with the league tournament a week away. "When we were one of the top seeds, I told my kids the bottom seeds could be just as dangerous. I'm certainly telling my kids that now, " he says. "Maybe the worm will turn and something good will happen for this team."