TALLADEGA – One Talladega High graduate made his plans to play basketball at the next level official this week.And fans won’t have to go far to see him play this winter.
O’Bryan Davis, who averaged over 21 points per game for the Talladega Tigers last season, announced Thursday that he’s committed to play basketball for the Talladega Tornadoes for the next few years. The 5-10 guard didn’t lack for offers, but ultimately decided to try out the school closest to home.
“There’s nothing like playing in front of your hometown,” Davis said Thursday. “I talked to my momma and she said to try Talladega College out for one or two years and see how things go.”
Davis considered playing for Jacksonville State University, but after a coaching change this spring, didn’t receive a scholarship offer from the new staff. JSU’s loss was TC’s gain in Matt Cross’ opinion.
“In my opinion he’s a Division I player and I think some people made a mistake by not offering him a scholarship on the Division I level,” the TC athletic director and head basketball coach said Thursday. “I know that he turned down many, many scholarships to non-Division I schools, both four-year colleges and junior colleges throughout the spring and early summer because I think he was still holding out on Jacksonville State, thinking that they would eventually sign him.
“Jacksonville State went through a coaching change this spring and I think the new staff went in another direction. So that kind of opened the door for us at the right time.”
In addition to scoring more than 20 points per game at THS, Davis also averaged five assists and four steals per game. He helped lead the Tigers to a 27-4 record and to the northeast regional tournament in 2008. Chucky Miller, head coach at Talladega High said Davis should be able to contribute immediately at TC.
“O’Bryan’s going to make an excellent college player,” Miller said. “He can shoot the ball, handle the ball and defend the ball. That’s three good attributes of a guard.
“He was an integral part of our final four team as a sophomore (in 2006). He didn’t start, but averaged in double figures off the bench when he played. The last two years he dominated a lot of ball games.”
Miller said Davis is a player who would do well in a young program like TC’s.
“I believe Talladega College got a person that can be the face of the program at the college. He can be what builds that program back to what it used to be.”
Davis said his goal for his first year is to improve his game.
“Hopefully I can come out here and play good like I did in high school and learn more than I did in high school,” Davis said. “(I want to) get my teammates better and get me better at the same time. Hopefully win an NAIA championship.”
He’s not just hoping for a great freshman year; Davis has big goals for his time at TC.
“I want to play here all four years and become an All-American and get in the NBA Draft,” he said.
Cross said Davis would likely start out as a shooting guard for the Tornadoes, but could make a move after a couple of years.
“Initially I’ll consider him as a ‘combo’ guard,” he said. “Slowly but surely in his senior level, like junior and senior years, he’ll be solely a point guard. But he’s got some things he needs to work on before he becomes a true point guard. Right now he’s more of a combo, scoring guard.”
As for Davis becoming an All-American, Cross believes he’s capable of achieving the honor.
“He really reminds me of this guard that I coached in Texas last year, who was Texas College’s first ever All-American in basketball,” Cross said. “They were about the same size, a small 5-10, 5-11 combo guard. They both can really shoot, can really finish at the rim. With their size you would think they were point guards, but they were better playing the two position, playing as a shooting guard and coming off screens.
“One of the things that O’Bryan’s going to need to do if he wants to become a great player at the college level and even further his playing career after college, he’s going to have to become comfortable and master the point guard position.”
Davis and Cross both agree fans will pack Callahan Gymnasium this winter to see the team play.
“That’s why I wanted to play at home really to bring the fans back here,” Davis said. “They’ll be here. I know they’ll be here because they support me. They support me a lot so I know they’re going to be here.”
“This first year with all the excitement and now with O’Bryan being a part of the team, come this fall and throughout the winter I’m sure we’ll be the hottest ticket in Talladega,” Cross said.
