DeCarlo Deveaux ’94 uses just one word sum up his UTampa experience: growth.

This is the story of how a shy and skinny kid from the Bahamas grew into arguably the best men’s basketball player in UTampa’s history while earning a degree in communication. He later found success in the worlds of professional basketball, insurance, finance and, most recently, broadcasting.

The Deveaux of today is confident and outgoing, which makes him a natural fit as the color commentator for UTampa men’s and women’s basketball games on TampaSpartans.tv, the digital platform that carries Spartan games. That’s a far cry from the Deveaux who arrived on the UTampa campus in the fall of 1990. In those days, he was introverted, and his basketball skills were raw.

“I grew up on an island in the Bahamas where there was only one gym,” said Deveaux, who also spent parts of his adolescence with family members in Miami. “There were only six or eight high schools on the island, so we just played each other three times a season.”

At UTampa, Deveaux at first found himself on another island, but eventually discovered an ocean’s worth of opportunities. His basketball skills were limited, but his natural athleticism was off the charts. Through hard work and lots of prodding from former UTampa basketball coach Richard Schmidt, Deveaux ended up leaving UTampa as the most decorated basketball player in school and Sunshine State Conference history.

The kid who started off with a game he described as “eight feet and in,” turned himself into a brilliant outside shooter.

“I didn't have a car, and I didn’t have much of a social life when I first got to Tampa,” Deveaux said. “I also spent my summers in Tampa. But I was given a key to the gym (at the then-called Bob Martinez Sports Center). So, most nights, I would go to the gym at 10 or 11 and work on my outside shot until 1 in the morning. The security guards used to come in to see who was in there and they were like, ‘Oh, it's just you.’”

In a standout college career, Deveaux was a two-time All-American and the national Division II Player of the Year as a senior.

“The University of Tampa brought me out of my shell as a basketball player and as a person,” said Deveaux, who went on to play professionally overseas for 11 seasons.

These days, Deveaux is once again part of UTampa basketball. Along with veteran play-by-play man Jack Eich, Deveaux, who also sells insurance and works as a financial advisor, has been broadcasting UTampa basketball games for 10 seasons.

“DeCarlo has such a passion for UT basketball,” Eich said. “He also knows the conference, and he really knows basketball. I’ve never had a partner that knows the game like he does.” Deveaux is as smooth a broadcaster as he was as a player.

“For the people that can’t get to the games, I try to paint a picture, so they feel like they are there,” Deveaux said. “I feel like I’ve gotten better at that each year.”

And with that, it’s clear. Even at 53, Deveaux is still growing as a part of UTampa basketball.