By 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.
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.
To work on his game even more, Davis played at Charis Prep in Wilson, where he was joined by a strong cast of teammates.
Since playing for the Cougars of Emmanuel, Davis said he has progressed into an all-around talent, but admits he has room for improvement.
Davis will have to get adjusted to playing basketball while taking classes and tackling his other responsibilities at the academy.
Davis said it will be tough getting adjusted to a different world.
Davis will have the support of his parents, Joe and Sandrea Davis, just as he always has throughout his life.
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.
Davis is hoping this won’t be his last stint playing basketball.
Davis is relying on a higher power to show him the way.