Geoff Mott
Sports Scene
Major college basketball coaches and scouts have flocked to Arthur Hills’ basketball games to watch the state’s top prospect play.
University of Michigan’s coach John Beilein and Michigan State University’s coach Tom Izzo have sat in packed gyms around the Saginaw Valley League to watch 6’4″ junior guard Eric Davis and the talented Arthur Hill team behind him.
While he gets texts from the top college coaches around the country, letters in the mail, and increased media coverage, it remains business as usual for Davis. “I just want to win,” he said. “I play my game no matter who is there, who is watching.”
Davis said he watches college basketball all the time when he’s at home and doesn’t expect to make a decision on where he’s headed until after this summer’s AAU season. He’ll make all his official visits in the summer and make his decision based on them. In the meantime, his mother and uncle handle the recruiting aspect.
“I’m just trying to win and focus on that,” Davis said. “It’s nice that the coaches are thinking about me. I get those letters every day, and I keep them for the history of it. There are lots of good memories [from the recruiting process].”
Freshman Brian Bowen, whose first cousin is former Arthur Hill and Michigan State player and current Philadelphia 76er Jason Richardson, is embracing the extra attention that Davis brings to the team.
“I live for this atmosphere. The crowd can really get you going,” Bowen said. “And knowing the coaches are there, you want to show them what you can do. It helps to get looked at.”
Bowen hopes to learn about the process from Davis and one day to step in his shoes. “Eric helps me a lot,” 15-year-old Bowen said. “The recruiting process seems pretty tough. He gets calls every day, and he handles it really good. I want to be in his position when I’m to that point.”
Davis has shown it’s his work ethic mixed with talent that has gotten him to this point.
“He gets up and here at 7 a.m. every morning to shoot around for 40 minutes, working on free throws and ball handling,” Arthur Hill coach Greg McMath said. “He’s been a much better vocal leader out there for us. It’s nice when your best player is your best leader.”
McMath said the biggest benefit his other players get from the recruitment of Davis is the extra exposure.
“[Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski] and coach Izzo are here for Eric, but they have a web of contacts and coaches around the country, and they will let them know when they see other good players,” McMath said. “Our guys work hard in practice, and these coaches and scouts see that.”
Davis and his teammates just want to enjoy the ride. “I like playing in front of these big crowds,” Davis said. “That’s the most fun, when these games go down to the wire and the game is on the line.”