By Maddie Johnson, Senior Writer
Women’s basketball player Dee Dee Davis is killing it and showing no mercy on the court this year. Davis has blown-away the Jasper community through her consistent performances that lead the team to beat long-time rivals like Monmouth and Fordham University. After helping carry Manhattan to their win against Monmouth, Davis was named all-MAAC Second Team for scoring an average of 17.1 points per game.
Davis has proven herself to be an exceptional athlete during her time at Manhattan. The team’s recent game against Monmouth showcased what Davis has accomplished and how she’s driven to accomplish more. The team’s victory was reflective of how far Davis has come, from getting seriously injured playing against the school two years ago to now defeating them and being honored by MAAC as a result.
“There’s a lot of history there. I actually tore my ACL playing against Monmouth two years ago, I believe two seasons ago, and I ruptured it shortly after,” Davis said. “Whenever I played Monmouth I always had that little chip on my shoulder. I always recount those moments and think about how I was playing before that and how I can get back to playing at that level..”
Despite having now a four game winning streak and being honored by MAAC, Davis is still determined to better herself. When asked about how she felt scoring 17.1 points per game, she stressed how critical it is to still stay focused.
“I don’t really have anything to celebrate about if I’m being honest. I just want to continue to do what I can and lead my team to victory, whatever I can to help my team get away,” Davis said. “If it’s not scoring double digits every game that’s fine, if it’s rebounding the ball, well then that’s fine, assisting, that’s fine with me. We all have the same goal to get a win so I’m going to buy in and do whatever I can to get that done.”
Davis started playing basketball when she was only a toddler and soon dominated the court, recalling playing in the middle school courtyard with the other boys. She later played competitively for her high school, Harry S Truman High School, located right here in the Bronx.
“I got to the middle school level and I said, ‘I want to go out and try out for the team and see how this goes and see if I still have that same feeling under a more organized way of playing basketball,’” Davis said. “There’s obviously a big difference between playing in the Cortlandt courtyard or at recess versus under the whistle to see people, you know, in striped uniforms calling travels and sure enough, I tried it out and it was a really great feeling.”
Davis was a standout at Harry S Truman High School, once scoring a career-high of 37 points in one game and being named an MSG Varsity All-New York City First Team pick.
During Davis’ first year on the Jaspers, she was named MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree before her season-ending injury.
After utilizing a redshirt her sophomore year, things progressively got worse as COVID hit, causing many athletes to not be able to finish their seasons. The pandemic paused games and ultimately put an end to tournaments which saddened Davis deeply. She hit an all-time low feeling of not being able to play all while seeing her teammates ability to play get taken away within a short period of time.
“It’s funny to talk about redshirting now compared to when it actually happened because if anyone was to talk to me about how I felt about redshirting or about that time period of my life, I would flat out say it was the worst time of my life,” Davis said. “I actually hated the thought of redshirting and it made me physically ill. I love playing basketball and I love to just go out there and give it all that I can. So, the fact that I was not going to be able to do that really left this sour feeling that I had.”
Reflecting now on her time redshirting, Davis says she’s grateful she took advantage to take off that year because not only did she grow as a player, she bettered herself as an individual which she shared has helped her immensely achieve what she has today.
“Now when I talk about it, redshirting was the best decision I could have ever made,” Davis said. “It helped me grow tremendously on the court and off…I’m a more well rounded person because of my redshirt year.”
From being recognized as MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree her freshman year to just recently making the All-MAAC Second Team, Davis has done a phenomenal job on the court. She plans to continue to have a great season by not putting too much pressure on herself and not thinking about what’s to happen as the season goes on.
“We’re just going to be locked in on the prep and whatever the next task is at hand. We want to give 100% of our efforts so that we don’t look back and we’re not doubting anything or sad about anything that we could have done. So, we just want to clear our minds and focus on whatever is the next task at hand and not put too much pressure on ourselves.”