'They trusted me': How Bradley needed this young wing, and how he delivered

PEORIA — Christian Davis went through an unusual growth spurt to get to his 6-foot-7 frame.

Now he's going through an unexpected early basketball growth spurt in his first year with the Bradley Braves.

"I was 6 feet tall when I graduated high school," Davis said, laughing. "I can't explain what happened after that. Nature took over."

Three years later, the Bradley sophomore wing stands at 6-7, 190 pounds and with flashes of a high ceiling that has coaches and teammates excited about him.

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"It's been a very non-linear journey for me," Davis said. "I was very small."

Now Davis is a prototype size for a wing. And he rose to the occasion when thrust into a bigger role in the wake of early-season injuries to key forwards Rienk Mast, Zek Montgomery and Ja'Shon Henry.

The long road to Bradley

Davis grew up in Denver, with his father, Brian — who operates an Amazon delivery service — his mother, Margaret, who is a psychiatrist, and his brother, Nathan, who played basketball at Quinnipiac and Belmont Abbey.

"I loved living in the city," Davis said. "I played baseball, a pitcher-first baseman, from ages 7-11. But my brother got me into basketball. It's been basketball since I was 6."

They played against each other and his bigger, older brother owned him back then. How would it go today? "He'd have no chance," Davis said, joking.

He played four years for Mullen High School in Denver, where he stunned onlookers with a school-record 55-point game.

"I watched him in that game at Mullen one night shoot 15 of 19 from 3-point range and score a school-record 55 points," said Mullen coach Chris Crosby, a family friend and mentor to Davis, after he signed with BU over the summer. "I told him he has a skill that is translatable to Division I basketball.

"He's a sniper. Just shoots the ball at a high level. Built like a college wing. Really high basketball IQ and does the little things on the floor to help win games, a really great teammate."

Davis moved on from high school to New Hampton School, a nationally prominent basketball prep academy in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

"I was 6 feet tall and I wanted time to see if I would grow into the game," Davis said. "By the end of my first year there, I'd grown 3-4 inches. Then I moved on to an NCAA D-II school and grew 3 more inches my first year there."

That was at Le Moyne, a program in the Northeast 10 Conference. Davis arrived there as a walk-on.

Davis led Le Moyne in scoring and rebounding with 12.9 points per game and 6.4 boards while averaging 30 minutes in his 27 games. He shot 42.7% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. And he shot free throws at 91.3%.

He earned a spot on the conference's all-rookie team.

"It's been quite a path," Davis said. "I graduated from high school in 2019, then I went to prep school and grew 3 inches, had to walk-on to an NCAA D-II school and grew some more.

"Then my first year at Le Moyne we never played a game, because of COVID. Finally got to play last season. I went into the (NCAA transfer portal) after that because I had a dream of playing D-I basketball. I wanted to see if I could do it."

The Bradley connection

Braves coach Brian Wardle got a phone call from someone he played with in the NBA Developmental League.

It was Crosby, letting him know Davis was an emerging gem.

"I got a phone call from Coach Wardle," Davis said. "That first call was so exciting. He asked me what I thought I needed to improve on. I told him, get stronger, play better defense. I think he respected that, and understood my journey."

Davis got offers from Bradley, Wofford and New Hampshire.

"My visit to Bradley decided it for me," Davis said. "It was the turning point of my story. I could see how much the players cared about each other, enjoyed being here, saw the community support and the coaching staff's commitment. I wanted to be here."

Arriving ahead of schedule

The Braves saw three key forwards go on the shelf with significant injuries in the season's first month. Searching for big man minutes, they settled on Davis and he responded.

He appeared in nine games, averaged 14.6 minutes and shot 46.7% from the field and 34.8% from 3. He played 30 minutes in a loss to Liberty and 25 in a Missouri Valley Conference win over Northern Iowa.

"He's building confidence," Wardle said. "He's got to keep improving. It's going to be interesting when Zek Montgomery and Ja'Shon Henry get back what we do, because we can't play that many guys.

"But I love the experience Christian is getting right now and he is a shooting threat. He had to play, and he came through for us."

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His teammates have watched a basketball growth spurt happening on the court in practice and games.

"The transition (from D-II) was a little overwhelming for him initially," Bradley point guard Duke Deen said. "Once he figures how to calm down and understand his role, he's a knockdown shooter. I promise you he's going to have a night one of these games, knock down about five 3s."

Veteran big man Mast returned from a knee injury and was impressed by Davis alongside.

"He wants to do it well, and now that he's getting more experience he knows how to do it well. In the beginning, he was still feeling things out. As a newcomer you're going to get subbed out pretty quick if you mess up a couple times.

"But Coach is getting more confident in him, letting him play through mistakes and he's doing great things for us now."

Back to the future

Davis' minutes will decline now as the older bigs settle back into the lineup and take on nationally-ranked Arkansas this weekend.

But Bradley now knows it has another player on the bench who can deliver starter-quality minutes. Depending on how the Braves set their starting lineup, they could have the luxury of bringing Davis and veterans Henry and Ville Tahvanainen off the bench, a trio no other Valley team could match.

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"I was frustrated at first by all the injuries to my teammates, Davis said. "But I realized the culture of the team is 'Next man up' and that they needed me.

"They trusted me, and I liked being in that role where I could help."

He's prepared for whatever the next step in his journey turns out to be. He looks at where he is, and where he's come from.

"Only eight people in my life ever thought I'd be here," Davis said. "My dad and brother saw me play at SIU-Edwardsville. My whole family saw me in the Cancun games. They have been there through all the ups and downs in my career.

"When I play, it's a chance to give back to all of them."

Bradley vs No. 10 Arkansas

• When: 3 p.m. Saturday

• Where: Simmons Bank Arena, North Little Rock, Ark.

• Watch: No broadcast or streams.

• Listen: WMBD-AM 1470, FM 100.3

• Records: Bradley, 7-3, 1st in MVC. Arkansas, 9-1, 2nd in SEC.

• All-time series: First meeting.

• NET ranking: Bradley, No. 70. Arkansas, No. 23.

• KenPom ranking: Bradley, No. 100. Arkansas No. 14.

• Coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle (8th season). Arkansas, Eric Musselman (4th season).

• Players to watch: Bradley: The Braves have four players averaging in double-figures scoring. They are led by center Rienk Mast 13.0 ppg and 7.8 rpg; F Malevy Leons 12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg and team-best 18 blocks; F Ja'Shon Henry G 13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg; G Connor Hickman 10.7 ppg. 39.1% from 3. Arkansas: 6-6 G Ricky Council IV, a transfer from Wichita State, is at 19.0 ppg and two blocks; 6-7 G Anthony Black 12.6 ppg, team-high 37a, 18 steals; 6-10 C Trevon Brazile 11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, has been moving up NBA draft boards but tore his ACL Tuesday and his out for the season. The Razorbacks have four players projected as NBA Draft prospects.

Bradley vs Arkansas in words

Bradley worked out on the hilltop Friday and then flew to North Little Rock, Ark., for its battle with the No. 10 Razorbacks set for 3 p.m. Saturday.

BU forward Ja'Shon Henry practiced again without issues, and head coach Brian Wardle said he's cleared to play and his participation will be a game-time decision.

"This is a pretty big game, big moment, to come back and play," Henry said. "We're back at full strength and I have so much I want to do for this team. We're deep, and we'll work out our roles now."

● Bradley head coach Brian Wardle: "In games like this, your best players have to be your best players. Stars have to play like stars. Veteran guys have to play with leadership and show that experience. We're going to have to be an unselfish team."

● Bradley point guard Duke Deen, a Shreveport, La., native:

"I grew up just a few hours away from that team, and I know all about them. Really excited to play against them, it's a great opportunity. I know some of those guys (on the Arkansas team), played against them all my life in AAU ball. I know Devo (Davis) from AAU ball. We're 100% healthy for the first time this season and we're ready to go."

● Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman, on Bradley's program:

"Historically Bradley, all the way back to Dick Versace and Mitchell JJ Anderson, two guys that I had an opportunity to work with when I was with Memphis. Coach Versace was an executive there, and Mitchell JJ Anderson, one of the best players to play at Bradley, was on staff as well. That program for a lot of years has been really, really good.

"And this particular team I think is well coached and extremely deep. They have shooting. They have a big center who can post up, center who can make threes, an All-League center. And then like I mentioned, (Malevy) Leons has very good size at the small forward spot. (Darius) Hannah is a very good athlete at the power forward spot. So, this is a team that we feel can win their conference, which was one of the reasons we felt it was important to try and schedule them because they are a really good team."

Bravely Speaking

Bradley is 27-54 all-time against opponents with a Top 10 ranking by AP, and has lost 14 straight against Top 10 teams. The Braves last win over an AP Top 10 team was an 82-79 decision at home over No. 8 Tulsa on Feb. 27, 1982. That same season, the Braves knocked off No. 2 Wichita State at home, 55-47, on Jan. 9, 1982. … The Braves are 51-117 all-time against teams in the AP Top 25. … Bradley's last win over an AP Top 25 ranked team was a 68-58 decision at home over No. 18 Northern Iowa on Feb. 13, 2010. … Bradley is 8-18 all-time against SEC teams and 2-8 at neutral sites. … Bradley has not allowed an opponent beyond 55 points in any of the four games center Rienk Mast has played since his return from a knee injury. … Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman was head coach at NBA Golden State and Sacramento. He and his father, Bill, were the first father-son combination to hold head coaching jobs in the NBA. Musselman graduated from Brecksville High School, a south suburb of Cleveland. … Bradley's defense is allowing 59.2 ppg, best among MVC teams. … Arkansas ranks ninth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency. Bradley is 60th. … The Razorbacks come in ranked by KenPom metrics as 40th in 3-point defense, 47th in blocks, 27th in steals, and 24th in turnover %. Bradley is ranked 30th in 2-point defense, 38th in blocked shots, 35th in steals. … Arkansas' average roster height is 79.0 inches, No. 3 in the country. The Razorbacks shooting guards and point guards average height both are No. 2. … Bradley is at 76.8 (219th) and its point guards rank 354th. ... Arkansas is 12-10 all-time in games played at Simmons Bank Arena. Saturday's game is sold out in the 18,000-seat facility.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball: Christian Davis a rising talent for the BU Braves