Christian Davis '23 Recruiting Profile

Playing college basketball is more than a goal for me - it is a dream in the process of coming true. At 6 years old I required double-knee surgery. I was not really into sports at that time, but I enjoyed being part of groups and teams. I think in part I wasn’t into sports because I wasn’t sure I could play given my physical limits at the time after surgery. So I learned about a mental sport in second grade - chess. Chess helped me learn how to think about my opponents’ moves, how to strategically respond to their moves or even possible moves, how to develop my pieces before they get a chance to even get started, and how to keep my mind focused on the game when I’m down and my major pieces are gone -  how to respond when it looks like I can’t win. I became part of my school’s chess team, and we went on to become state and regional champions. I loved being part of the team, and the confidence it gave me helped me in other areas as well. In addition to chess I did swimming, baseball, and tennis. These opened my eyes to the different type of competition that comes from combining the mental strategy with physical strength and agility. But overall I was happy with being part of a team - my chess team - and the sports were fun hobbies.

In middle school my chess team broke apart, and I felt like I’d lost my family. That’s when I began to play basketball more often, and realized it was the best of both worlds. I could combine all of the strategy from chess with the physical strength I’d gained through the other sports I’d practiced. I wasn’t as good when I first started playing, but I was given a chance to play on my school’s 8th-grade team. I knew that many of my teammates had been playing basketball since kindergarten, so I had to work hard to catch up and keep up with them. I didn’t play much at first but I watched and studied the game to the point where I could get rebounds easily and score for my team a lot in my freshman year. I learned that I had to push myself harder to learn the things others had known for years, like the fundamentals, and I had to really get focused to be a strong member of my high school team. From my freshman year, I began to develop quickly as a player. My responsibilities on the court grew, I got bigger and stronger, and now I’m a leader on my varsity team. I learned that I had to put in many extra hours of practice, early mornings and late nights with my coaches and my dad’s help, and that with focus I could achieve my goals. Michael Jordan once said “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” I have put in the work to develop myself as a leader, a scholar, and an athlete, and I am excited to begin preparing to play basketball at the college level starting in 2023.