Devin Durrant
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Devin George Durrant (born October 20, 1960)"Devin G. Durrant"
'' Liahona'', May 2014.
is an American retired professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player. From 1984 to 1985 he played with the
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
and with the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
. He later played in European basketball leagues until 1988. In a ''Deseret News'' poll in the year 2000, he was voted one of the top 10 college basketball players in the state of Utah over the previous 100 years. In 1999, ''Sports Illustrated'' listed him as one of the 50 greatest Utah sports figures. Durrant has also served in various roles in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church), including
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Texas Dallas Mission and as a counselor in the church's
Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
general presidency.


Early life and college

Born in
Brigham City, Utah Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...
, Durrant was named a
McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...
in 1978 during his senior year of high school. He was captain of the
Provo High School Provo High School is a public secondary school located in Provo, Utah, United States. It is one of three high schools in the Provo City School District and was the oldest secondary school in the city. In the Summer of 2017 the school district be ...
team that won a state basketball championship. Durrant attended
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
(BYU) where he played basketball and started every game of his collegiate basketball career. He helped the
Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...
to three NCAA postseason berths, three WAC championships, and an overall record of 79–38. During his senior year, Durrant averaged 27.9 points per game, good for third in the nation. For his efforts, he was named second-team All-American by the AP, NABC, and USBWA.All-American selections from: * * * He graduated from BYU in 1984.


Professional career

In 1984, Durrant was named District 7 Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. That same year he was selected as a GTE/CoSida Academic All-American for the second time and awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. Durrant was chosen by the
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
as the 25th pick in the NBA Draft. He played a season with the Pacers and part of a second season with the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
. He also played professionally in Spain (in the teams Santa Coloma and Guadalajara) and France. After leaving professional basketball in 1988, Durrant worked as a marketing director with WordPerfect Corporation. He subsequently owned his own real estate investment firm. In 2009, he earned an MBA from the University of Utah. In 2016, Durrant was inducted into th
Utah Sports Hall of Fame
He remains No. 5 on BYU's career scoring list with 2,285 points.


Church service

Durrant is a member of the LDS Church and has served in a variety of positions, including
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, counselor in a
stake presidency A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...
,
high councilor A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...
, and stake mission president. As a young man, Durrant served as a full-time
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
in the church's
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
. From 2011 to 2014, he served as president of the church's Texas Dallas Mission. At the church's April 2014 General Conference, while still serving as a mission president in Texas, Durrant was
accepted ''Accepted'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Steve Pink (in his directorial debut) and written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Mark Perez. The plot follows a group of high school graduates who create their own fake college after bei ...
by the membership as second counselor to Tad R. Callister in the church's Sunday School General Presidency. Durrant completed his service in Texas and officially began the Sunday School assignment in July 2014. In May 2015, the LDS Church announced that
John S. Tanner John Sumners Tanner (born September 22, 1944) is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Since his retirement, Tanner has served as the Vice ...
, who was serving as the first counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, had been appointed as the next president of
Brigham Young University-Hawaii Brigham may refer to: Places * Brigham, Cumbria, England * Brigham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England * Brigham City, Utah, USA * Brigham, Wisconsin, USA * Brigham, Quebec, Canada People * Brigham (surname), including a list of people with t ...
. As a result, in June 2015 Durrant was called as first counselor, with Brian K. Ashton succeeding Durrant as second counselor. Durrant has spoken three times in the church's general conference. The first was in April 1984, just after completing his playing career at BYU, where he spoke on the topic of
missionary work A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
. He spoke again in the October 2015 General Conference, while serving in the Sunday School General Presidency. In his speech he encouraged listeners to "ponderize" (a
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

Author

Durrant has written two books. The first book is titled, Raising an All-American: Helping Your Child Succeed in Athletics and in Life. The second book title is The Values Delta: A Small and Simple Way to Make a Positive Difference in Your Personal and Professional Life.


Personal life

Durrant's parents are
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
and Marilyn Durrant. Durrant and his wife, Julie, are the parents of six children.


See also

* List of general officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


References


External links

*
Devin Durrant
at Basketball Reference
BYU Basketball's All-Time Starting Five
@ SB Nation
Cougar History – Five
@ Bleacher Report

* ttp://www.sltrib.com/home/4431525-155/utah-sports-hall-of-fame-elaine Salt Lake Tribune: Durrant's induction into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Durrant, Devin 1960 births Living people 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American men's basketball players American Mormon missionaries in Spain American Mormon missionaries in the United States Basketball players from Utah BYU Cougars men's basketball players Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Latter Day Saints from Utah McDonald's High School All-Americans Mission presidents (LDS Church) Olympique Antibes basketball players Phoenix Suns players Small forwards Sportspeople from Provo, Utah