Former Teammates Mourn Basketball Star Killed in Crash

It was an emotional day Wednesday for many people who knew Devin Oliver at her alma mater, Rowlett High School, where she was captain of the girls’ varsity basketball team all four years.

“She was just awesome,” said Ricky Roland, Oliver’s high school basketball coach.

“I really looked up to her,” said Lydia Williams, who was a freshman player at Rowlett when Oliver was a senior. “She was so beautiful and so smart, and she was so talented.”

The Texas A&M-Commerce junior had her life cut short after she was killed in a car crash in Paris Tuesday night with A&M teammate, Aubree Butts.

“I know God always has a plan,” said Williams. “He got a good one and took her away.”

The former Rowlett High School basketball star is remembered by former teammates not just for her skills on the court but for who she was off the court.

“She had the biggest personality. She was funny — always dancing in the locker room, dancing, making beats,” said Williams. “She was just a great teammate.”

“She was by far one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” said Roland.

During her senior year in 2011, Oliver averaged 23.6 points per game as the top scorer among Texas 5A schools.

But her talent extended well beyond the hardwood.

“She was just a good kid, loved life, played hard, and then she would go and make straight A's," Roland said.

Oliver’s father said she was planning to go to medical school after graduating from Texas A&M-Commerce to become an anesthesiologist.
 

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