Irmo’s Devontae Shuler transferring to basketball powerhouse Oak Hill Academy
One of the state’s top high school basketball prospects has a new home.
Irmo’s Devontae Shuler announced Saturday he is transferring to perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., for the upcoming season. Shuler, a junior, plans to play there his final two seasons.
“I will be transferring to Oak Hill Academy!” Shuler tweeted Saturday. Shuler’s departure had been rumored for a couple of weeks. His mother, Linda, said she withdrew her son from Irmo three weeks ago and began to explore other options for her son.
Linda Shuler said they also considered Our Saviour of New York, among other schools, but thought Oak Hill was a better fit both on and off the court.
“We determined the best thing for him is that he should be at Oak Hill,” Linda Shuler said. “Their academics and way they presented themselves. They have a better program for him academically. That is first and foremost.”
Linda said it wasn’t an easy decision to make and Devontae wasn’t on board with it at first, but has changed his mind. His mother also was very complimentary to the Irmo program and coach Tim Whipple.
“We appreciate what coach Whipple has done for him,” she said. “This has nothing to do with him or Irmo.”
Shuler averaged 25.5 points per game last season in helping Irmo to the Class 4A lower state championship before losing to Sumter. He is ranked No. 27 on ESPN’s Top 60 for Class of 2017.
The 6-foot-2 guard has offers South Carolina, Clemson, Florida and Southern Cal. Shuler is in Brooklyn, N.Y., this weekend for the Under Armour Elite 24 festivities. He finished third in Friday’s slam dunk contest and was going to attend Saturday’s game.
Shuler joins an Oak Hill program which is regarded as the top high school basketball program in the country and played games last season in Hawaii, Tennessee, California and New York City. Oak Hill went 47-1 last year with its only loss in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Classic in New York.
Shuler’s addition bolsters an already loaded roster which includes five-star recruit Harry Giles, who announced in July he was transferring to Oak Hill from High Point Wesleyan in North Carolina.
Shuler will get a chance to play in Columbia next season when Oak Hill plays in the Chick-fil-A Classic in December.
This story was originally published August 22, 2015 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Irmo’s Devontae Shuler transferring to basketball powerhouse Oak Hill Academy."