I’m not going to say Devin Ebanks has fans of WVU basketball elated. I won’t. I will, however, say it’s made quite the impression. The Mountaineers recruiting class is now No. 10 according to Scout.com and might one day be considered among the program’s best ever.

I will also say this about writers of both stories and of headlines who have taken liberties in using silly plays on words with the name Devin Ebanks: It’s been egregious unnecessary. I read a story not to long ago and counted four such usages. Then I blacked out because my brain had had enough more than it could handle. I have problems with my equilibrium balance — ask people on my softball team — and I awkwardly fell out of my chair. Fortunately, I only brushed my head on the desk and narrowly avoided a trip to the emergency room hospital. I live in fear that sooner or later someone will realize his Devin E. spells … nevermind.

Anyhow, it’s safe to say we can prepare for at least one year and, by all accounts, no more than two years of the shenanigans because it’ll he hard to resist having fun with the name. It certainly didn’t escape this crowd:

StraightOuttaNorthCentral said:

it really is a great name for a bball player. besides all the banking puns and metaphors, you have the bank shot puns and metaphors. such as:

“Devin Ebanks one home for WVU victory”

Mike, can you get an official reaction from an actual headline writer at the DM?

Um, yes. I quizzed design editor Philip Maramba:

i like it — works well in 1 column, too. i’ll keep thinking. you should keep an ebank of ebanks heds to whip out on various occasions.

A short while later, he returned with a sneak preview of what’s to come:

— ebanks heist seals victory
— egads! ebanks erupts!
— devin shrimp: forward comes up small in pitt loss
— devin pester: stifling defense rattles hoya star
— louisville hopes to solve the devin-ci code

these will only get worse.