Jmaury Davis, Clarendon basketball, Jr.
On the court: Davis has already made a verbal commitment to play football at Texas Tech at running back or in the all-purpose athlete spot, but everybody knows what he can also do on the basketball court. When the defending Class 2A state champion Broncos most needed him last week, Davis led the way by averaging 20 points over three games to earn Clarendon a return trip to the state tournament in San Antonio. In a 63-36 region quarterfinal win over Gruver, Davis was second on the team with 17 points. At the Region I-5A semifinals in Levelland, Davis stepped it up even more, scoring a game-high 24 points to carry Clarendon to a 64-53 victory. But it was in the region final against Christoval where the 6-foot-2 Davis never stood taller. No. 2 Clarendon trailed by two points heading into the fourth quarter, Davis scored 11 of his 19 points that quarter, leading the Broncos (29-2) to a 60-49 win and a spot back in the state tournament, where they’ll face La Rue La Poynor in the state semifinal Thursday morning.
Coach Boston Hudson: “Jmaury can just take over a game with his athleticism and his ability to finish at the rim and shoot that midrange jump shot. In the regional finals he took over the game in the fourth quarter against Christoval and helped us ultimately punch our ticket to San Antonio. He’s just a special player and he plays hard. We didn’t play very good, then in that fourth quarter we finally started guarding and that changed everything. We were getting out in transition and went on a 10-0 run to fuel that thing. I coached against (Davis) when I was at Wheeler so I knew how talented he was. He’s just a well-rounded athlete. I knew how special of a player he was in both sports.”
Davis: “The whole game I have the same straight face because I know once we get down, we aren’t going to be down for long. I know if we are I have to put in my own hands and be a dog on the court and give my team momentum. I’m really a momentum starter on our team, like last year against Lipan (in the state semifinal). The big thing is that we had to try to execute as much as we could on offense but mainly the defensive side because (Hudson) says defense always leads to offense and transition baskets. I could have done better but I want to put the team into position that we’re in now. I try to get my team into that kind of predicament.”
About Davis
Favorite band or musician: Polo G
Favorite social media platform: Twitter
Favorite athlete: Devonta Freeman
Bet you didn’t know: He is a rapper.
Parents: Ikenisha Butler