Antoine Davis on scoring binge at unheralded Detroit Mercy

DETROIT (AP) — Antoine Davis’ journey into theNCAA record book took a fortunate turn when his father lost ajob.

The Detroit Mercy guard moved in middle school from Alabama toHouston, where former NBA coach John Lucas put him through gruelingdaily workouts, and it changed the trajectory of his basketballcareer.

“His name wouldn’t be in the record books if I didn’t get firedfrom UAB,” Titans coach Mike Davis said. “Moving to Houston andworking out three times a day with John Lucas made him a differentplayer.”

Davis is the nation’s leading scorer but that doesn’t capture itall. Last week, he broke the Division I record for career3-pointers with a spectacular performance. He made a personal-best11 3-pointers in a win over Robert Morris, giving him 513 in acareer few saw coming when the 142-pound son of the coach steppedon campus in the Motor City.

And after Detroit Mercy plays this Saturday in Indianapolisagainst IUPUI, there is a good chance that only the late BasketballHall of Famer Pete Maravich will be ahead of Davis on the NCAAall-time scoring list.

Maravich scored 3,667 points, an astonishing total over threeseasons during an era of college basketball without freshmen, shotclocks or 3-point lines. Davis is just 18 points from passingformer Portland State star Freeman Williams, who scored 3,249points in 106 games from 1974-78.

Davis set the 3-pointer mark in his 130th game, four fewer thanthe previous record-holder, Fletcher Magee, who played at Woffordfrom 2014-19. He likely will break the all-division NCAA record for3-pointers set by John Grotberg, who made his 526th career3-pointer in 2009 for Division III Grinnell.

He is averaging an NCAA-best 26.2 points, the first Titan tolead the nation in scoring since Spencer Haywood in 1968-69, andhas scored in double figures in 130 straight games, an NCAArecord.

“Those numbers are surreal at the end of the day,” Davis said.“I still probably won’t feel this until after my college career isover, probably later on down the line, but that’s a lot of pointsand a lot of 3’s made.”

He passes, too, as evidenced by him joining Keydren Clark of St.Peter’s as the two players in NCAA history with at least 3,000points and 500 assists.

The Titans (7-12, 3-5 Horizon League) are ninth in their 11-teamconference, though Davis is clinging to his dream of getting theprogram into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.

Davis took advantage of an opportunity to play a fifth season,an option for all athletes who were enrolled when the pandemic hitduring the 2019-20 season.

Davis entered the transfer portal last spring and was tempted toleave an overlooked basketball program for a major one. Maryland,Georgetown, Kansas State and BYU all offered Davis a chance to playat a higher level.

He had the green light to go, but chose stay despite a lack offan support at games and financial backing for the basketballprogram that forces his father to pay a strength coach out of hisown pocket to train the slender shooter.

When Detroit Mercy celebrated Davis joining the 3,000-point clubby presenting him with a ball on the court before a recent game,there were maybe 200 fans in the stands.

“I just said to my mother, `Where are the students?’” TamilyaDavis said at halftime of a home game against Youngstown State,sitting on a couch in her husband’s office under photos of formerDetroit coaches such as Dick Vitale. “I don’t understand it. ...There’s no school spirit.”

Maybe bigger crowds are in the future for Davis. The 6-foot-1guard is generously listed as 165 pounds and his slight frame maygive NBA teams pause.

His father is trying to do something about that by hiring astrength coach to personally train him.

“To do the things he’s done at that size and not being wirystrong, but being weak, it tells you about how skilled he is,” MikeDavis said. “And, how much he’s put time into his skill set.”

The 24-year-old Davis was born in Bloomington, Indiana, wherehis father led the Hoosiers to the 2002 national championship game,and became a skilled basketball player when his father was forcedto find a new job a decade ago and landed at Texas Southern.

He began getting homeschooled by his mother in Houston as partof the family’s plan to free up his day for Lucas to train himalong his other clients in the league and college basketball.

The extended court time also allowed Lucas to change hisshot.

Davis holds the basketball in his right hand and steadies itwith his left, like many players, and yet when his right wristflicks on a shot his left palm rotates in to face the basket in astyle that’s all his own.

Lucas groomed Davis with those long workouts while requiring himto make at least 500 shots a day while coaxing him to become morecompetitive.

Davis has shot up to 10,000 times in a day, according to hisfather, and once hoisted up 60,000 shots in a 10-day period.Against NBA players and college standouts as a teenager, Davis didfull court, one-on-one drills and had 100-possession games to testhis mental and physical stamina.

“Nobody was too big in the gym to go against the younger kids,so ’Toine was going against guys like Damon Stoudamire, SteveFrancis and Cuttino Mobley,” Lucas recalled. “His gift was, and is,scoring.

“The only equalizer for size is a shot,” Lucas said. “If you canmake shots, no matter how big or little you are, you will find yourway onto the court and there’s not too many people who can shootlike him.”