By Rex Kirts
Dee Davis, heading into his senior year, had planned a little rest and relaxation. That simply didn't work out.
The South point guard intended to skip the AAU spring season and "just be a kid." But he found out he didn't need so much down time, that there was enough free time even after a few games.
The kid and his basketball are seldom apart.
"I saw how much fun everybody was having," said Davis, whose moves on the court astound fans everywhere. "I had fun playing, playing with people that I didn't know. It was good."
After AAU Davis played with the South team that went to the national tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. Since then he works out about every other day.
"I've had a good break," he said.
A LOT OF WORKOUTS were with his father, Darwin Sr., Indiana University players and ex-IU player Armon Bassett.
"Playing against Armon makes me better," Davis said.
He also gets worked out by a former Ben Davis football player who has helped his explosion, agility, jumping and foot speed. Opponents will not be pleased to learn Davis is more explosive now. He was already exceptional there.
He has also spent in a lot of time trying to improve his 3-point shooting. "I did a lot better with the 3s this summer," he said. "Working on it gives you more confidence to shoot it."
A month playing with his Panther teammates was fun and productive.
"We did a lot better than people thought we would after losing Matt (Carlino) and the big man (Eric) Fromm," Davis said. "In Vegas we beat good teams by 30 or so. I think we'll be fine. We'll be a lot of team with our transition game. We'll wear them out."
A starter at North as a freshman and a two-year starter at South who won the MVP award in the state championship game as a sophomore, Davis said he's looking forward to "just competing" this season.
"A LOT OF PEOPLE are doubting us," he said. "I want to have fun and maybe make another run at the title. For how we looked in the summer I think we've got a pretty good shot. If we work hard enough."
The Panthers had a shot last year, too, but were shocked by Jeffersonville in the final game of the regional. They saw a 12-point lead get away in the fourth quarter.
"I haven't thought about that, really" Davis said. "You've got to move on from those things."
The loss to Jeffersonville snapped the Panthers' 49-game winning streak, one away from tying the longest streak in state history.
STATE FINALS MEMORIES
At Conseco Fieldhouse, Davis and his teammates waited to take the floor for the 2009 state championship game. And waited and waited. The class 3A game went three overtimes, so South and Fort Wayne Snider had to wait to play for the 4A championship.
"Everybody got so excited," Davis recalled. "We were watching (Plymouth's) Bruce Grimm, Jr., who scored about 40. That was funny."
Plymouth lost that game to Princeton, which became the 11th team in Indiana history to go undefeated. Two hours later, South became the 12th.
"I also remember coach Holmes getting on Jordy (Hulls) before the game because he stayed on the court and kept shooting."
AN IMPRESSIVE SIGHT was South fans, dressed in purple and stretching to the top of the fieldhouse.
"I've never seen so many purple shirts," Davis said. "They went all the way to the nose-bleeds."
Davis put on a great show. "I never got tired. I had too much energy."
Winning the MVP helped put him on the map, he said. "That told the college coaches I had a lot of upsides." Ain't that the truth!
OTHER CAREER HIGHLIGHTS include playing South his freshman year, "with Ray (McCallum) against Jordy and those guys. Even though we lost it was fun."
Also fun was last year when Nate Peck, who played sparingly, came off the bench to rain 3s and score 16 points.
And, naturally, there was the victory over Detroit Country Day his sophomore year when the Panthers and Country Day were ranked in the top five in the nation. The key play late in the game was Davis stripping the ball from the transferred McCallum and laying it in.
"I felt that game was more exciting than the state game," Davis said. "Leading up to it . . . I felt the bleachers shake, and I couldn't hear myself talk. It was great. I was loving it."
There's a whole year left to make more memories before he heads off to college at Xavier.
