Sierra Canyon's Devearl Ramsey gets the point of his position

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- A lot of players see themselves as capable of playing multiple positions. Devearl Ramsey is under no such illusion. He sees himself as a point guard.

Ramsey, a 5-10, 175-pound senior-to-be, helped a talented but young Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) team go 26-4 and win the state Division V title this past season, averaging 13.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.6 assists.

"You have to know your teammates and know their personalities," Ramsey said. "You want to keep everyone involved and you want to make everyone happy, but you can't make everyone happy all the time. I definitely take on a role as leader of the team, a coach on the floor."

Ramsey is enjoying this week at the NBA Top 100 Camp while terrorizing his fellow point guards with his tenacious defense and ability to drive inside.

"It's always fun to play some of the best talent in the country," Ramsey said. "I think I play like Ty Lawson. I try to take things from different point guards, like Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, with the way he talks. I try to look at small point guards like me."

Ramsey has offers from Southern Cal, Cal, Michigan, N.C. State, Arizona State and several others. He said he's hoping to get a better idea of where he'll go to college next month.

As far as his unusual first name, he simply comes from a long line of Earls. His father is Earl Sr. His older brother, Earl Jr., played basketball for Crenshaw (Los Angeles) and his younger brother, Jerearl Ramsey, is a promising player as well.

"My dad wanted to keep the Earl name in the family," Ramsey said. "Sometimes people call me the Pearl. I heard that when I was younger and I hear it a little bit now."

Growing up, he tried to emulate his older brother, playing on the outside courts of Los Angeles. While playing most of his ball outside didn't help his jump shot much, it did make him a tougher player.

"They call Cali players soft and I definitely take it as a chip on my shoulder," Ramsey said. "I've been playing since I was four and my brother would kick me off the court. I am working on making my jump shot more consistent. I feel like I can already take it to the hole any time I want."