Special to The Ledger
The men’s basketball team looks to hit the ground running this year. They have a whole new roster and look to build a quality team.
One player, Tracy Davis, is looking to achieve the ultimate prize this year. He is not a local player but looks to be a strong influence this season.
Davis was born and raised in the city of Cocoa; Fla. and started playing the game when he was only six years old. He played basketball all throughout high school at Cocoa High, where he played football for two seasons as a quarterback and as a safety.
The college had some scouts down in Florida when they saw Tracy play; they liked what they saw and had him come up to the college for a visit. While he was here, Davis had the chance to experience what it was like to be a Cavalier. He got to see the campus itself, the team, the coaching staff, and the academic programs that the college has to offer. He liked what he saw.
“I wanted to get away from my home state, and get away from all the distractions; I wanted to find a new environment,” Davis said.
Davis has not decided what he will be majoring in yet, but he feels very confident on what he plans to do after college.
“I would like to have a career in basketball, but you always need a Plan B because you never know what can happen with injuries. If not basketball then an athletic trainer would be what I’d like to do. I want to stay in sports,” he said.
Davis wants to accomplish one thing this season: He wants to help lead the Cavs to a National Championship. His coaches and teammates believe Davis is a key element to the team.
“Davis gets along well with the rest of the team, attitude is good and the players are growing together as a team,” said Mike Jeffers.
Davis doesn’t think they will have too many challenges to face this upcoming season.
“We have some height disadvantages this year, that’s probably our biggest disadvantage.” Davis said.
Jeffers is under the impression Davis will make a strong impact on the team this year, especially on the defensive side.
“Davis has great rebounding ability and can get the ball through traffic very quickly. He always seems to get it in the basket when needed,” said Jeffers.
Davis wants to be a great team player and a role model for this group of players.
“I plan on being a leader for this team, a strong inside presence, and a great outside specialist,” Davis said.
Jeffers said he feels these players have the potential to win this season.
“We have a lot of good players this year, we have good pieces to be a competitive team,” Jeffers said.
There are some useful things the players can learn from playing basketball that can be helpful in the classroom.
“Learning the plays, it’s just like studying for a test. The more you study the better you’ll be, always learn new things,” Davis said.