By Dylan Butler
No, instead of jacking up a ton of shots, the former Christ the King standout is a jack of all trades for the resurgent Pirates.”He's one of those guys who's not great at anything, but he's good at a bunch of things,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. “He's a very solid piece of the puzzle. Some nights he's a role guy and some nights he's the type of guy who's more than a role guy. He helps you win games.”And the 6-foot-3 wing from Deer Park, L.I., has taken on more of a leadership role this year, serving as a mentor of sorts for sharpshooter Jeremy Hazell, who is one of the freshmen in the Big East this year.”Guys on the team love him,” Gonzalez said of Davis. “He's humble and he's tough. He's got a quiet toughness. He makes big shots, too. Believe me, we're thrilled to have him.”Seton Hall wasn't Davis' school of choice coming out of Christ the King, where he averaged 13.2 points per game as a senior, helping lead the Royals to the CHSAA Class AA intersectional final. He originally signed to play for North Carolina State, but when coach Herb Sendek left to take the vacant job at Arizona State, Davis reopened his recruiting.The idea of playing close to home, playing in the Big East and playing alongside Eugene Harvey, the St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) star who became Gonzalez's first prized recruit, was too much for Davis to pass up. He went to the rebuilding project in South Orange, N.J., and doesn't have one regret.”I love it here,” he said. “This year, they expect more from me on the court and off the court to step up more in a leadership role.”And Davis has accepted the challenge.”He's more mature and he knows when to pick his spots,” senior guard Jamar Nutter said. “At points he knows when he needs to go and when he needs to hold back on offense and he plays solid defense. He's grown up a lot.”According to Gonzalez, Davis still needs to get stronger and become more of a consistent outside shooting threat. His production is down from last year, with Hazell's hot start (13 points per game). But Seton Hall is 15-11 overall and 5-8 in the Big East, already eclipsing last year's win totals. And those are the most important numbers to Davis.”A win is everything,” Davis said. “It doesn't matter how we get it.”Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
