Davis enjoys challenges in quest for a state title
The Super 16 Extravaganza, a fall tournament used as a preseason measuring stick for the Houston area’s best basketball teams, might as well have been a regional tournament to Kendrick Davis.
Local basketball analyst Jim Hicks, owner of RCSSports.com and the event’s originator, remembers the Sam Houston sophomore point guard begging him to match the Tigers against Cypress Lakes, which featured star guard De’Aaron Fox, or Yates and Texas signee Jacob Young.
“He will be the first to tell you, ‘I’m not saying I can beat De’Aaron Fox,’” Hicks said of Davis. “That’s what he told me one time. ‘I just want to play him and see if he could stop me.’
“That was the statement that made me just fall in love with his game.”
It’s that constant hunger for respect and a rather large chip on his shoulder that’s helped Davis build a name as one of the city’s best underclassmen.
Davis and Sam Houston (34-4) have a shot at the school’s first state championship since 1988, playing in the Class 6A state semifinals against Atascocita (37-0) at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The winner plays Desoto (34-2) or Cibolo Steele (32-3) in Saturday’s final.
Davis averages 17.8 points, 6.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
Above all, he says he loves a challenge. Davis went against Atascocita point guard and Purdue pledge Carsen Edwards already to open the season. He lost to Yates and Young at the Super 16 but returned the favor during the regular season. He got Fox, a Kentucky signee and McDonald’s All-American, in the regional final.
“They’re all older guys,” Davis said. “Everybody looks at them as tops in the city. I know this is their last year leaving and they had to pass the torch to somebody. So, I wanted to make sure I put a statement on my name to let them know I’m up next. “I think I did that.” The respect is coming. After Sam Houston beat Cy Lakes, Fox called Davis one of the state’s best guards regardless of age.
That praise was special for Davis, who scored 27 points in the regional final.
“I felt excited knowing he had that to say to me, which he didn’t have to say that,” Davis said. “I felt real excited, coming from one of the best point guards in the country, which is a McDonald’s All-American, which is a player I look up to, that many others look up to and respect him for what he did for the community.”
Sam Houston coach Ralph Barreras said his point guard still has more room to grow, which is scary considering where he is now.
Last year, even though injury slowed him down in the postseason, Davis was a freshman leading Sam Houston to its best season in decades.
“He may be a sophomore but he plays as good as any senior that I’ve seen in the state of Texas,” Barreras said. “He’s a special player.”
Adam Coleman is a freelance writer.