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Davis shipping away to USMMA
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Basketball has taken the high-flying Joe Davis to several different stops in his young life.
After stints at Emmanuel Christian, St. John’s Preparatory School in Minnesota and Charis Prep in Wilson, Davis decided to get on board with the Mariners of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Davis, a religious teenager, said he had opportunities to attend other schools, but felt a calling to go to the academy.
“The academy sets you up for life and that was the exact thing I was looking for in a school,” Davis said. “I had many other schools that seem, to most, would be a better fit basketball-wise. Those schools seemed unattractive to me because if basketball did not work out, I would be left with a diploma and not much work to show for it.
“I will have to work for everything here and if I can make it through, the reward will be great in the end. The basketball program is also on its way up and we have a tremendous recruiting class coming in this year and the expectations should be set high.”
Davis is in the midst of a two-and-a-half week plebe summer which, he said, is “pretty much like boot camp for the service academies.”
Davis, who will study engineering at the academy, located in Kings Point, N.Y., is a scoring machine.
He averaged 21.25 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game at Emmanuel. As a junior at St. John’s Preparatory School, Davis averaged 17.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. As a senior, Davis came up with 27.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
The highlights have been plentiful in his career. He scored 50 points in the second game of his senior season.
Davis also participated in the slam dunk contest at the prestigious Bob Gibbons Tournament in Asheville, where he placed third.
“This was before Oak Hills’ final regular-season game and they were playing for the national high school championship, so there were a ton of people watching,” Davis said.
“I messed up the toss on a dunk where I take my shirt off. Had I caught that one, I had a good chance to win it.”
To work on his game even more, Davis played at Charis Prep in Wilson, where he was joined by a strong cast of teammates.
“Playing at prep school was amazing,” he said. “The competition is (Division I) every day and every game. You’re playing against 19-20 year-olds every night. To make a comparison, I spent one month (May 15 to June 20) working out with the Virginia Cavalier basketball team and the only difference I noticed was the strength, but I felt as if I was ahead of half of the freshmen they had coming in this year. The prep school I played for last year prepared me for top-level competition more so than any high school in the country could.
“People think of the best high school in the country as Oak Hill Academy. Don’t get me wrong — they’re good, but they could not beat my prep school and probably about 15 other prep schools. The quality of players from top to bottom at prep schools is amazing.”
Since playing for the Cougars of Emmanuel, Davis said he has progressed into an all-around talent, but admits he has room for improvement.
“I’ve improved drastically,” he said. “I feel as if I can play at any college in the country now whether it be a walk-on or scholarship player. My strength, speed and quickness have all vastly improved. The hours and hours I put into my game in Minnesota, whether it was early in the morning or after school, really developed my game.
“If I could grade myself, I would say i was a C-plus at Emmanuel and, at the top of my game at prep school in Wilson, I was an A-minus. I still have a lot of room for improvement and I’m hoping I have the time to do it.”
Davis will have to get adjusted to playing basketball while taking classes and tackling his other responsibilities at the academy.
“I’m a little nervous,” Davis said. “I’ve always been a very independent person where I pretty much set my mind to do something and would try to accomplish it. At the academy, I will have to take orders for my first year but, as I move on in class years, I will develop a leadership role. People always tell me that the students run the school (this is why Kings Point graduates are so well sought after because of the leadership positions they have developed while in college). I will find out soon if this is, in fact, true.”
Davis said it will be tough getting adjusted to a different world.
“The good thing is I have two sisters in New York, but the toughest thing for me will definitely be the work load and how I will handle it. Also, the regiment will be tough to me. I have always been pretty independent and made my own decisions, but now I will have others constantly telling me what to do and how to do it.”
Davis will have the support of his parents, Joe and Sandrea Davis, just as he always has throughout his life.
“They have always been there,” he said. “They made sure every good opportunity that passed my way, they aided me in achieving it by whatever means possible. They are definitely a little crazy, but I would not trade my situation with my parents for anybody else’s in the whole world. I’m truly blessed to have two parents who love the Lord and me and are still together after 25 or so years. Words can’t explain it; I’m so blessed.”
Once at the academy for good, Davis will likely feel more comfortable on the court. He’ll be looking to help the team improve on a 14-12 mark from a year ago.
“I want the team to win 25 games and advance to the final four and, if we get there, then I’ll have a new goal,” he said. “I also want to be a major contributor. I feel as if I am well prepared based on my past to come in and, hopefully, be successful.
“I feel like I can bring a little bit of everything. I can play every position from the one to the four. As long as the coach puts me in between the lines, I’ll try to do whatever he asks.”
Davis is hoping this won’t be his last stint playing basketball.
“I would love to play professionally, something like South America is something I am interested in pursuing if the right doors open and if it’s God’s will for me.
“Whatever God’s will is for my life. I will have a five-year commitment to work in the maritime industry when I graduate, but that could range from an office job to working on a ship four months out of the year.
Davis is relying on a higher power to show him the way.
“Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and with Him all things are possible,” Davis said. “I’m not at all a military type of guy and so the only way I will make it through will be with His help. On my own two feet I cannot stand, but with Him all things are possible.”
After stints at Emmanuel Christian, St. John’s Preparatory School in Minnesota and Charis Prep in Wilson, Davis decided to get on board with the Mariners of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Davis, a religious teenager, said he had opportunities to attend other schools, but felt a calling to go to the academy.
“The academy sets you up for life and that was the exact thing I was looking for in a school,” Davis said. “I had many other schools that seem, to most, would be a better fit basketball-wise. Those schools seemed unattractive to me because if basketball did not work out, I would be left with a diploma and not much work to show for it.
“I will have to work for everything here and if I can make it through, the reward will be great in the end. The basketball program is also on its way up and we have a tremendous recruiting class coming in this year and the expectations should be set high.”
Davis is in the midst of a two-and-a-half week plebe summer which, he said, is “pretty much like boot camp for the service academies.”
Davis, who will study engineering at the academy, located in Kings Point, N.Y., is a scoring machine.
He averaged 21.25 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game at Emmanuel. As a junior at St. John’s Preparatory School, Davis averaged 17.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. As a senior, Davis came up with 27.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
The highlights have been plentiful in his career. He scored 50 points in the second game of his senior season.
Davis also participated in the slam dunk contest at the prestigious Bob Gibbons Tournament in Asheville, where he placed third.
“This was before Oak Hills’ final regular-season game and they were playing for the national high school championship, so there were a ton of people watching,” Davis said.
“I messed up the toss on a dunk where I take my shirt off. Had I caught that one, I had a good chance to win it.”
To work on his game even more, Davis played at Charis Prep in Wilson, where he was joined by a strong cast of teammates.
“Playing at prep school was amazing,” he said. “The competition is (Division I) every day and every game. You’re playing against 19-20 year-olds every night. To make a comparison, I spent one month (May 15 to June 20) working out with the Virginia Cavalier basketball team and the only difference I noticed was the strength, but I felt as if I was ahead of half of the freshmen they had coming in this year. The prep school I played for last year prepared me for top-level competition more so than any high school in the country could.
“People think of the best high school in the country as Oak Hill Academy. Don’t get me wrong — they’re good, but they could not beat my prep school and probably about 15 other prep schools. The quality of players from top to bottom at prep schools is amazing.”
Since playing for the Cougars of Emmanuel, Davis said he has progressed into an all-around talent, but admits he has room for improvement.
“I’ve improved drastically,” he said. “I feel as if I can play at any college in the country now whether it be a walk-on or scholarship player. My strength, speed and quickness have all vastly improved. The hours and hours I put into my game in Minnesota, whether it was early in the morning or after school, really developed my game.
“If I could grade myself, I would say i was a C-plus at Emmanuel and, at the top of my game at prep school in Wilson, I was an A-minus. I still have a lot of room for improvement and I’m hoping I have the time to do it.”
Davis will have to get adjusted to playing basketball while taking classes and tackling his other responsibilities at the academy.
“I’m a little nervous,” Davis said. “I’ve always been a very independent person where I pretty much set my mind to do something and would try to accomplish it. At the academy, I will have to take orders for my first year but, as I move on in class years, I will develop a leadership role. People always tell me that the students run the school (this is why Kings Point graduates are so well sought after because of the leadership positions they have developed while in college). I will find out soon if this is, in fact, true.”
Davis said it will be tough getting adjusted to a different world.
“The good thing is I have two sisters in New York, but the toughest thing for me will definitely be the work load and how I will handle it. Also, the regiment will be tough to me. I have always been pretty independent and made my own decisions, but now I will have others constantly telling me what to do and how to do it.”
Davis will have the support of his parents, Joe and Sandrea Davis, just as he always has throughout his life.
“They have always been there,” he said. “They made sure every good opportunity that passed my way, they aided me in achieving it by whatever means possible. They are definitely a little crazy, but I would not trade my situation with my parents for anybody else’s in the whole world. I’m truly blessed to have two parents who love the Lord and me and are still together after 25 or so years. Words can’t explain it; I’m so blessed.”
Once at the academy for good, Davis will likely feel more comfortable on the court. He’ll be looking to help the team improve on a 14-12 mark from a year ago.
“I want the team to win 25 games and advance to the final four and, if we get there, then I’ll have a new goal,” he said. “I also want to be a major contributor. I feel as if I am well prepared based on my past to come in and, hopefully, be successful.
“I feel like I can bring a little bit of everything. I can play every position from the one to the four. As long as the coach puts me in between the lines, I’ll try to do whatever he asks.”
Davis is hoping this won’t be his last stint playing basketball.
“I would love to play professionally, something like South America is something I am interested in pursuing if the right doors open and if it’s God’s will for me.
“Whatever God’s will is for my life. I will have a five-year commitment to work in the maritime industry when I graduate, but that could range from an office job to working on a ship four months out of the year.
Davis is relying on a higher power to show him the way.
“Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and with Him all things are possible,” Davis said. “I’m not at all a military type of guy and so the only way I will make it through will be with His help. On my own two feet I cannot stand, but with Him all things are possible.”
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