T.C. Williams Grad Comes Home for NBA Workout

Alexandria's Mike Davis, during a pre-draft workout Thursday for the Washington Wizards, made a fine defensive play. "Good block, Mike," said Tommy Sheppard, the vice president of basketball administration for the Wizards.

A few minutes later the former T.C. Williams High basketball standout made a 17-foot jump shot from the right wing. Then seconds later he slammed down a dunk in front of Flip Saunders, the head coach of the Wizards. "Way to finish, Mike," said Saunders.

Davis, who led T.C. Williams to the Virginia Group AAA state tournament, was back in the area Thursday morning for a workout at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington. "It was awesome," said Davis, of the chance to be seen by his hometown team. "I have so many family here in the area. I always wanted to work out for the Wizards."

"It was good," he said of his showing before coaches and executives with the Wizards. "This was a lot more intense" than a workout earlier in the week with Oklahoma City.

"It would be fun to play here. They have a lot of young talent, like John Wall," Davis said of the Wizards' guard. "I bring energy and I get a lot of second-chance points."

One of the other former college players who worked out Thursday was Austin Freeman, a former guard for the Georgetown Hoyas who played at DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Md.

Freeman remembers Davis from AAU play when they were in high school. "He is a great athlete, but he has always been like that," Freeman told Patch. "He hustles and he rebounds and he atttacks the rim. I hope the best for him."

Davis was one of six former college players to go through several drills and games of three-on-three for the Wizards in preparation for the NBA draft that will be held later this month.

It is normal for most NBA teams to work out former college players on different days to get a close look at candidates for the draft. The Wizards tentatively plan to work out other players June 10, 14, 20 and 21 prior to the NBA draft June 23.

Davis, 22, as a 6-foot-9 senior forward, was honorable mention All-Big Ten this past season and the only player for Illinois to start all 34 games. He was second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game and he led the club in rebounding for the second year in a row at 7.1 boards per contest.

The son of Steven and Tangie Davis, he scored 1,279 points in four college seasons and with 909 rebounds ended his career second in school history in that category.

Davis earned three varsity letters at T.C. Williams and averaged 17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks as a senior. He was the Northern Region player of the year and an all-Met selection by The Washington Post.

The T.C. Williams graduate said he tries to pattern his game after NBA players such as Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat and Taj Gibson, who played this past season for Chicago.

Davis' younger sister, Maleana, attends the University of Miami. He credits his grandfather for a positive impact on his athletic career. "He is the person who put a basketball in my hands and taught me to play the game," Davis said.

Davis admits that his work habits were not as good as they could have been earlier in his career. "In college I was a little lackadaisical. I am grown up. That was the old me," he said. He will need that maturity for a shot at playing in the NBA.