Antoine Davis is the best scorer in D1 basketball, and a former walk-on
You probably haven’t heard of Antoine Davis but he is the greatest scorer in college basketball today. In fact, there is only one man who can currently say he has scored more points than him in all of college basketball history. And his name is “Pistol” Pete Maravich. Davis plays for the University of Detroit Mercy Titans, and as a fifth year grad student has now scored more than 2700 points in his college career. But Davis was originally headed to be a walk-on for the University of Houston, before committing to attend Detroit Mercy where his father is the head coach. And since he got on campus he has played major minutes for the Titans, averaging 26 points per game as a freshman. So how does a former walk-on become the greatest scorer in college basketball, and why don’t you know his name?
Antoine Davis wasn’t highly recruited
Antoine comes from a basketball family, and obviously that has helped him develop into a prolific scorer. But his road to Division 1 was anything but typical. He grew up in Texas where he was homeschooled. He did play high school basketball for the Homeschool Christian Youth Association and was a great scorer for the team, but his real recruiting interest came from his AAU and EYBL participation. All that being said, Antoine was good enough to hold his own but never received any major program recruiting offers. His walk-on offer at Houston proves just how much talent he actually had, but high level basketball recruiting is based off of basic logic. Coaches want to find the most talented players who not only play at that level, but do it for the longest amount of time. And his limited high school experience severely challenged their ability to assess that.
Antoine Davis is not an ideal NBA prospect
Big time college basketball recruiting often comes down to the eye test. And Antoine Davis doesn’t impress much when you first look at him. As a graduate senior he is listed at 6’1 and 165 lbs. Which means he is much closer to Lou Williams as a basketball archetype than anything else. He was considered a 3 star recruit by major ranking services, a testament to his scoring ability, but power conference teams are often looking for at least 4 star level recruits. It is questionable whether even two or three more inches would have vaulted him up the recruiting boards for many coaches. He is a deadly outside shooter which is much of the reason he has poured in so many points. But his accolades appear to be primarily at the offensive side of the floor. He did average nearly two steals per game earlier in his college career, but those numbers have dipped in his final two, and his assists, turnovers, and rebounding numbers are not going to jump out the box score.
Antoine Davis represents the truth about basketball recruiting
Antoine’s recruiting journey is actually not atypical at all. Most high school basketball players do not play for top ranked programs in their state. And even if they play AAU, will not be the best player in most tournaments they enter. For players like Antoine, you have to reach out first to the right schools in order to get them to show interest. And 3 star recruits are worth showing interest, for many coaches who are not competing at the SEC level. Ultimately Antoine identified a school that allowed him to achieve his goal to play Division 1, and be on the court making plays for his team. Antoine is the greatest scorer in the game today because he was one of the best at finding a school that fit him and his goals. Because he could be a part of Houston’s nationally ranked team right now, while sitting on the bench most of the game.
The Bottom Line
All that being said, Antoine Davis has staked his claim as one of the greatest scorers in college basketball. And in the age of the transfer portal, he could help almost any struggling power conference team with instant offense right now. He chose to stay at Detroit Mercy, with the school and the coach who believed in him. And he has countless records and accolades to show for it. He likely would have gotten more attention if his team had made the NCAA tournament, even once in his career. But even though that hasn’t happened, Davis continues to score points with the best of them. And he will be on the radar for NBA summer league teams, because at the rate he is going you can’t ignore him anymore. But Antoine is really the blueprint for what good recruiting outcomes will look like for most kids. Finding a school, even if it isn’t one on national television, that believes in you as much as you do.
KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.
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