Rimmer makes mark at Widener
Devan Rimmer wasn’t sure if she wanted to play college basketball.
During her senior year at Pennridge, Rimmer was very much on the fence about making the commitment to keep playing while trying to pursue a college degree. Ultimately she felt like she owed it to herself to try.
It turned out to be the right decision, though at the time, she wasn’t sure what she’d gotten into.
Rimmer wrapped up a standout career at Widener in March, helping lead the Pride to two of the best seasons in the program’s history.
“Our ultimate goal this season was to win the MAC championship, and while we fell short of that, getting a chance to play in the NCAA tournament was everything we could have asked for,” Rimmer said. “We didn’t win our first game there either but if we had, our season may have been cut short, too . ... I’m proud we got that chance and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.”
Rimmer started all four years at Widener. Her 1,571 career points rank third in Pride history, and she finished second all-time with 176 made 3-point field goals. Her 550 points as a junior is the program’s second-highest singleseason total, and she finished in the top 30 nationally for 3-point percentage each of the last two seasons.
The Perkasie native was named a WBCA Honorable Mention AllAmerican last month, the third Widener player to earn the recognition in the past 10 seasons.
“Honestly, I surprised myself,” Rimmer said. “Coming into the program, I was just kind of average. In high school, I wasn’t a superstar or anything like that and coming into Widener I knew had nothing to lose, I had four more years of basketball and I was going to give it my all.”
While she was a generally solid player at Pennridge, the program never mounted a long playoff run. She was a four-year varsity player and a three-time All-SOL pick. As a senior captain, she averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
Between high school and AAU basketball, she never felt compelled to play at the next level. Still, there was enough passion to keep the flame going. When Widener came into the picture, Rimmer went for it.
“Sometimes I felt like I was just going through the motions,” Rimmer said. “I loved the sport but playing AAU I didn’t know if I wanted to play basketball in college. It’s a huge commitment and requires a lot of time and dedication but it comes back to realizing you only have four more years. I’m done now and it’s crazy, it’s so surreal and doesn’t even feel real but I’m so glad I made the decision to play, especially at Widener.
“There’s no other school I would have rather gone to. I made my mark and I’m satisfied with my career.”
Success didn’t come right away as the Pride finished under .500 in each of Rimmer’s first two seasons. On an individual level though, the 5-9 guard made an impact by leading the team in scoring as a freshman and winning MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year. A 37-point game against Arcadia would stand as her career-high, a point off the program record.
Any struggles that the team had didn’t cause Rimmer to rethink her decision. Instead, after finishing third on the team in scoring as a sophomore, she worked harder to become a player who could lead her team to better results.
“It all comes back to love of the sport,” Rimmer said. “Being out there, that adrenaline, it’s so fun and the team, the chemistry, the relationships I’ve created and developed, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Now that it’s over, you look back and think ‘it was a great decision.’ Not many people can say they got to play a sport in college and I’m happy I am one of them.”
She started 49 of 50 games the first two seasons before making a major leap in her junior year, starting all 28 games, as the Pride won 20 games for just the second time in program history to reach the ECAC quarterfinals. Rimmer led the MAC with 19.6 ppg and scored her 1,000th point, becoming the 12th player to do so for Widener.
Her perimeter shooting came around, connecting on more than 40 percent from behind the arc. Rimmer knew she had to become a better shooter to succeed at the college level but she didn’t see herself ending up the second most prolific shooter in Pride history. After making 54 combined treys her first two seasons, Rimmer hit 53 as a junior and 62 last season.
“I really put an emphasis on becoming better, getting in the gym and getting shots up when I had the time just to become more versatile,” Rimmer said. “I wanted to be a threat offensively in more ways than one.”
Widener had a relatively young team last season, with Rimmer and Madison Ireland (Garnet Valley All-Delco) the only two seniors. Rimmer put together another strong season with a teambest 18.0 ppg and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. She made first team All-MAC for a second straight season.
The Pride won 20 games again, were ranked nationally for the first time ever and earned an atlarge bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, just the fifth in program history.
Academics played a vital part for Rimmer, a MAC Academic Honor Roll selection. She will graduate at the end of the semester with majors in psychology and pre-physical therapy and plans to start grad school for physical therapy at Widener this summer.
It’s also giving her a chance to stay involved with the game. Rimmer has talked with Widener coach Alisa Kintner about taking an assistant coach position to keep working with her younger teammates.
“I love the game, I love the team and the fact I’ve played with all those girls, I think it would be cool to look at things from a different perspective,” Rimmer said.
She knows it won’t replicate the experience of being on the team, the aspect she will miss most. Rimmer didn’t play for the numbers, so she hasn’t taken time to reflect on her accolades.
“It still hasn’t hit me it’s officially over,” she said. “I’m still looking at it as this is a little break and we’ll get back to it next week but it’s slowly coming into realization that I am done, I made my mark and I had a successful career.
“It’s a tough decision, but if you’re on the fence, I would say go for it. You may only have four more years, if it doesn’t work out, there’s nothing wrong with that but you don’t want to have that regret down the line.”