June 9, 2015

Hoops alum Davis jumps to Germany’s Pro-A league

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Former Carson-Newman men’s basketball player Antoine Davis has advanced in his professional playing career overseas, jumping up two leagues from Germany’s Regionaliga to the Bundesliga/Pro-A.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Former Carson-Newman men's basketball player Antoine Davis has advanced in his professional playing career overseas, jumping up two leagues from Germany's Regionaliga to the Bundesliga/Pro-A.

Davis, the reigning Regionaliga player of the year, will compete next season with the Rhondorf Dragons, which finished 14-8 last year and third in Pro-B's South Division. The Dragons, much like Davis, received promotion and will compete in the Pro-A next season.

"I'm very pleased for Antoine, no one is more deserving," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "He will perform consistently at a high level and this is the beginning of more great things for Antoine Davis."

Rhondorf sits on the Rhein River south of Cologne near the country's eastern border with Belgium.

Davis averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and 2.8 assists per game for the Sechtem Toros.

The Rustburg, Va.-native had his best game of the season against Grevenbroich when he dropped 42 points in a 90-78 Toros' win.

He had eight games on the plus side of 30 points and shot 54 percent from the field, 42 percent from three and 83 percent at the free throw line.

"We had him as a guest at practice last February" Dragons head coach Boris Kaminski told Eurobasket.com. "He will fit to us on and off the court. Besides his great stats, he has a high basketball IQ and stable defense. I am convinced that he will be an absolute enhancement for us."

Davis is Carson-Newman's all-time Division II leader for scoring average, scoring 18.2 points per game in his Carson-Newman career.

He's in the top 10 in Carson-Newman's all-time scoring list and number two since the team moved to Division II with 1,526 career points.

The following Q&A was posted at Eurobasket.com by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber. Read it in it's entirety here: http://www.eurobasket.com/Germany/news/406606/Antoine-Davis-(Rhondorf-Dragons)-In-My-Rookie-Year-In-Germany-I-Learned-How-To-Talk-To-People-And-Different-Ways-To-Try-To-Lead-The-Team

Antoine Davis (195-F-91, college: Carson-Newman) a 195cm forward from Rustburg, Virginia that will play his second professional season for Rhondorf this upcoming season. Last season as a rookie he played for SG Sechtem 1971 where he tore up the Regionaliga west averaging 26,4ppg, 7,2rpg and 2,3apg in 25 games while shooting 42,0% from outside. His stats from last season were amazing as he scored in double figures in all 25 games including a 42 point game against Grevenbroich and he scored 30 points or more in eight games including 36 point efforts against Munster and Duesseldorf. He started his basketball career at Louisburg JC (JUCO) and then played three seasons at Carson-Newman (NCAA2) and as a senior played 28 games19.0ppg, 6.0rpg, 3.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 45.4%, FT: 84.1%. He spoke to eurobasket about basketball.

Antoine thanks for talking to eurobasket.com. Where are you at the moment and how have you been enjoying your summer so far?

I've been really good this summer and I'm living in Tennessee.

You recently finished your first season as a professional for SG Sechtem 1971 with a record of 12-14. Despite having such amazing numbers, how much of a damper did the team season put on your individual season?

For me all I care about is winning or doing the things that will lead me to win and as long as I know I did my best I'm happy with how the season went.

You had an amazing season averaging 26,4ppg, 7,2rpga and 2,3apg while shooting 42% from outside. Did it sometimes feel like you were a man playing among boys?

I would not say against boys I played some good players but the work I put in during the offseason is what makes me confident I can score with great efficiency.

After coming from the NCAA2 at Carson-Newman, was the German Regionaliga step behind the NCAA2 level?

I don't think it was a step behind but it was less athletic compared to where I played.

Despite having such high stats, did you concentrate mostly on keeping up those good stats or were you able to also work on other parts of your game through out the season?

During the season I wasn't paying attention to the overall stats that much I just wanted to do every thing in my power to help my team win and most of the time that was to score big numbers.

You had many huge games, but would you rate your 42 point explosion against Grevenbroich as your season highlight?

I had a lot of good games but that one was special because I just felt in a zone that game and I felt like I could not miss. And my team played great and put me in the best positions to be aggressive.

In the first game against Cologne, you pulled out an exciting 86-85 win where you had 35 points, but in the return game you lost and you had your lowest scoring game of the season with 13 points. How strange would it be to play them this season again in the pro A as they are trying to play Pro A?

Cologne is a great team and they will definitely be a great challenge if we end up playing them but I know me and Rhondorf will be ready for the challenge.

In your rookie season you played with kids, as well as older players. What was your most important experience that you made as a rookie in Germany on and off the court?

Just how to talk to people and different ways to try to lead the team because the team was really diverse when it came to age so I had to talk to each player differently.

Your teammate at SG Sechtem 1971 was player agent peter Heizer. Were you able to get some important tips about the player market?

Yes we talked all the time about those things and he's really smart about things like that.

You have signed with new German pro A team Rhondorf. You will be making the jump up two levels. How confident are you that you will be able to excel at the Pro A level?

I'm very confident because of all the hard work I've been putting in my whole life and so far this summer.

Will it be a difficult adjustment for you not necessarily scoring 35 points each night anymore in the German Pro A?

It won't be too difficult because I did the same thing in college at Carson Newman so I have experience giving up more scoring for the betterment of the team and I will do anything the team needs me to do for the team to win.

You visited a Rhondorf practice last season. You must have had a good trust to head coach Boris Kaminski early on. What makes the trust to this coach so special?

He just seemed like a great coach that knew how to talk to players and I thought he knew a lot about the game of basketball and I could learn something's from him.

You can fill up the stats sheet, but what is a hidden strength in your game that doesn't get noticed right away on the court?

I think most people look at my scoring and unless you actually watch me you don't see my defensive abilities on and off the ball.

On what part of your game will you work on most this summer in order to be ready for the German Pro A?

Just getting stronger and working on my handles a little more.

How does a typical summer work out day look like for you on and off the court?

Well I have a weight room at my home so it starts there where I work out for about a hour. Then I go to the gym and make about 500 shots with my fiance who rebounds for me and after that I try to play some pickup games.

Many have said if Lebron can pull out the 2015 NBA title, that he will be the greatest player next to Michael Jordan. Would you agree?

I think it would definitely take him a step closer to being in that discussion with Jordan.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

The last movie I watched was transformers 3 which is also my favorite movie.
Thanks Antoine for the chat.