In 2nd season with Saint Vincent men’s basketball team, Dev Ostrowski becoming more complete player
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D.P. Harris was away from Saint Vincent for two years while he coached the St. Thomas men’s basketball team in Miami Gardens, Fla. But even while he was more than 1,100 miles from the Unity Township campus, he made a connection that would help him when he returned to the program where he spent 16 years (2003-19) as coach.
During Harris’ first season at St. Thomas (2019-20), the Bobcats played a scrimmage against nearby Miami Dade College. The Sharks featured freshman Dev Ostrowski, and Harris took note of the 6-foot-2 guard’s performance from the opposing bench.
“I kind of left an impression on him, I guess you could say,” Ostrowski said.
An impression indeed. Now, five years later and in his second season at Saint Vincent, the junior has established himself as one of the top players in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Heading into the Bearcats’ home game against Adrian on Monday, Ostrowski ranked second in the PAC in scoring (18.7 points per game) and 3-point percentage (46.9%, 30 of 64). He had 39 points (13 of 27 field goals, including 7 of 14 from 3-point range) in a Nov. 26 victory over Franciscan, and, in the Bearcats’ final game before their holiday break, he had 38 (16 of 26) in a win over W&J.
His strong showing in the early portion of the schedule comes on the heels of a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 17.3 points, shot 44.4% from 3-point range and earned second-team all-conference.
“I think the big thing about Dev is his ability to shoot the ball from distance,” Harris said. “… He’s always been able to shoot it, and he’s always been able to score it.”
Stories abound about coaches who got players “off the couch” to help their team. That, essentially, was Ostrowski’s case.
With the nation in the throes of the covid-19 pandemic, Ostrowski said he wasn’t sure he wanted to be in a school environment. So he hung up his high tops and took some time away from college.
The Connecticut native spent six months traveling around the U.S. and the Caribbean. Then, Harris, remembering Ostrowski’s performance against St. Thomas, reached out and asked if he would be interested in joining the Bearcats.
Impressed by Saint Vincent’s academic reputation and ready to be a student-athlete again, Ostrowski decided to enroll. But his participation with the team was put on hold for a year as school officials tried to sort out which of his credits would transfer.
Finally, after nearly two years away from competitive basketball, Ostrowski was back on the court and helping the Bearcats reach the PAC championship game.
“I hadn’t really played that much college basketball,” Ostrowski said, noting he kept in tune during his off years by playing pickup games and at the YMCA. “But the experience was great. I had great teammates, and D.P. did a good job coaching us, and I felt comfortable out there, which was most important.”
If Ostrowski’s offense was his greatest strength, his defense, Harris said, probably was his greatest weakness. That was an area of focus during the offseason.
“It’s a mindset,” Harris said. “I think anybody can play defense. It was just … he was always asked to score, and we’re asking him to play both ends of the court.
“I think he has improved drastically on the defensive end, and he has a great nose for the basketball.”
Added Ostrowski: “My on-ball defense is pretty good, but it’s more of the off-the-ball defense that tends to get a lot of players. I’ve been more aware of where I am positionally on the court, keeping track of my man and the ball and actually being there for help defense.
“I never really learned how to play off the ball … and when you’re in juco, it was just kind of hectic. You’re not learning anything necessarily. You’re just trying to showcase what you have offensively.”
With his overall game on the upswing, Ostrowski is hoping to help the Bearcats take care of some unfinished business. Saint Vincent advanced to the PAC championship game but was routed by Geneva, 83-63, despite 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals from Ostrowski.
The Bearcats, picked to finish second in the PAC in the preseason coaches’ poll, got off to an uneven start to the 2024-25 season, even dropping their first two conference games (92-73 to Chatham and 73-70 to Thiel). But Saint Vincent entered the holiday break on a five-game winning streak to raise its record to 7-3 (4-2 in the PAC), including a 99-88 win over then-No. 24 Hood.
Ostrowski had a game-high 26 against Hood to lead a half-dozen Bearcats, including Yough grad Terek Crosby, in double figures.
“I think it’s … we changed the lineup,” Harris said. “Jevontae Jones (transferred) in from Notre Dame College, and there’s kind of a learning curve for him, but I just think it was getting new guys to mesh.”
Added Ostrowski: “I think the reason why we’re on this streak is everyone is learning how each other plays and knows what each person can do now.”
After Monday’s game against Adrian, Saint Vincent will play nothing but PAC games the rest of the way. Down the stretch, Chatham and Thiel will have to play at Carey Center, which could provide Saint Vincent with an advantage as the conference schedule hurtles toward the postseason.
Now that he and his teammates appear to be on the same page, Ostrowski is confident the Bearcats can capture their first PAC title since 2015-16.
“I don’t see why we don’t get pretty far, winning the PAC and get far in the March Madness tournament,” he said. “You never know. Things happen. But I’m very confident we can make it pretty far this year.”