Pueblo Central's Xavier Davis hopes to follow Betts, Williams to college ranks
Friends usually try to push you to do your best in life and are the people who help and guide you.
In the case of Pueblo Central junior Xavier Davis, friends he made at a young age have guided him to basketball, which Davis hopes to continue playing after high school.
Davis became friends with Kadyn Betts and Syris Williams at the Boys and Girls Club at a young age and got into basketball because of them.
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“It was my sixth-grade year and they just brought the love of the game to me,” Davis said. “They gave me love for the sport, they were like brothers to me — like older brothers — and they just took me in and invited me to play basketball."
Davis said he learned a lot from Betts and Williams, not just on the court but from their work ethic. Both worked hard on their skills and have moved on to play at the collegiate level, Betts at Minnesota and Williams at Western Colorado.
That is something Davis is striving to achieve as well.
“Their work ethic is like crazy, crazy,” Davis said. “I thought I worked hard, but they worked really hard.”
This year, Davis is relied on to carry the scoring load left by Betts and Williams. Davis, who is athletically gifted, said scoring has never really been his forte but is something that he’s worked on this summer. It's paying off, as Davis is averaging more than 14 points per game.
“I didn't have confidence in my shooting last year,” Davis said. “I think I'm building it up. I go to lunch to shoot around every day, and I'm trying to lead this team at the same time.”
Another thing Davis is enjoying is the opportunity to play with his younger brother LaDamien, a freshman on this Wildcats team.
When asked who is the best out of the siblings, Xavier smiled and said: “Me, of course!”
Both Xavier and LaDamien are helping the Wildcats to an outstanding season this year, sitting second in the South-Central League standings and ranked No. 10 in the state in Class 4A, according to the latest CHSAA rankings.
However, if the Wildcats hope to make another deep run in the playoffs, as they did the year before, Xavier needs to get his team on the right page, and by that, he means playing disciplined ball and making the right moves on the court.
“We need to stay disciplined on defense,” Xavier said. “We can’t be jumping too early; we need to stay home. We also need to take good shots as well.”
Xavier looks poised to have the Wildcats back in the playoffs again this season, only this time they hope to reach the finals after being knocked out in the semifinals by last year's eventual champions, Lewis-Palmer.
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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter: @chowebacca
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Central basketball's Xavier Davis sets sights on college hoops
