Local basketball star Paul Davis leads with inspiration and perseverance
ROCHESTER, Mich. — Paul Davis is a local basketball legend and Rochester native. Davis chose basketball full-time heading into his freshman year at Rochester High School in 1998. He was so good at the game, Coach Hal Commerson offered him a spot on the high school’s Varsity basketball team during his first year of school. After his sophomore season, Coach Izzo from Michigan State University noticed Davis’s incredible talent and offered Davis a scholarship to play basketball for MSU and before his junior year started, Davis committed to Michigan State. Davis closed out his senior season at Rochester by being named 2002 Michigan Mr. Basketball, an award given to the top player in the state of Michigan.
Paul Davis, the kid known as the one who scored a lot, then found himself playing basketball for the Spartans from 2002 through 2006, where he reached the Elite Eight his freshman year, First Team All-Big Ten his sophomore year, made the NCAA 2005 Final 4 his junior season and finished his senior season as 1 of 2 players in Michigan State Basketball All-Time history to finish in the Top 10 in points and rebounds.
While conquering the years of playing ball and experiencing collegiate training from Coach Izzo, Davis’s strength and quick decisions on the Spartan court became incomparable. Then, with no surprise to everyone around him, he was drafted to play for the L.A. Clippers. Three years later came the opportunity to play for the Washington Wizards, where he played under Flip Saunders for one year. Moving on in 2011, after 2 major surgeries, Davis signed a 2- year contract to play in Seville, Spain, for Cajasol Sevilla. After Spain, he played for four years in Russia for Khimki Moscow.
“I was blessed to travel the world playing the game I loved as a kid from Rochester, representing my town proudly. I will always be grateful for the support I received from the community throughout my career. Now that my playing days are over, I make it a priority to stay active in the community and have built a great relationship with Mayor Barnett鈥�. – Paul Davis
Davis holds an impressive basketball career resume, no doubt, but not without giving hard work and extreme dedication along the way. During Paul Davis’s 10-year career, he has had seven surgeries: five on his right knee alone. Elton Brand tore his Achilles tendon during Davis’s second season with the L.A. Clippers. Brand’s injury meant Davis was able to move into the starting role. Two weeks into the season as the starter, a painful tear of his ACL unfortunately took him out of the game for the rest of the year. Injuries then seemed to happen back-to-back for Paul. He experienced a herniated disc in his back during his rehabilitation and a pinched nerve from the same area that went down his leg for eleven months. This finally forced him to get surgery in 2009.
The surgery was successful. Davis worked on his health and stayed strong until 2012. Then, with no other options, he had knee surgery during each of the last four years of his career. The result? Davis’s right knee has no ACL intact and he was forced to continue on with bone-on-bone mobility.
The injuries were extremely painful for Davis, but he envisioned a European championship win and an MVP title. So, he persevered and continued to work towards his dream. In 2015, his team won the Euro-Cup Championship as he led the finals in every major statistical category. He said, “It was a difficult road and being on the other side of the world made it that much more challenging.” When asked how he did it, he said, “The way I persevered was by focusing on the current day and what I needed to do to get 1% better from the day before. I was not going to let an injury decide when I hung it up for the last time. My faith and belief in the Serenity Prayer allowed me to accomplish that.”
Living with his fianc茅 Katelyn, and their five-and-a-half-year-old four-legged son, Bane, he’s also a caring philanthropist at heart. Davis still makes it a point to help others as a Fleece & Thank You board member and the Chair of the non-profit’s Fundraising and Development sector. Fleece & Thank You is a local organization with a mission to provide colorful fleece tie blankets to children battling illness who stay overnight in a Michigan hospital. For many of the 30,000 kids a year that have to stay one night or even months in the hospital, Fleece & Thank You blankets are the only colorful shield some are able to take with them.
Paul Davis has had quite a journey. But with new goals and a new mission, he holds the same dedication. Davis proves the consistent discipline of sacrificing today for a 1% better tomorrow will bring good things and a bright future to those who refuse to give up.
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