Terence Davis has been grinding for years to prove he can make it in the NBA. Although basketball has always been Davis’ first love (he began playing at age six), the 22-year-old actually developed into a football star in high school. Despite receiving 20 scholarship offers from Division I schools, Davis decided to pursue basketball at Ole Miss. That path has led him to an opportunity with the Denver Nuggets’ 2019 Summer League team this month.
“When I made that decision, there was a lot of backlash from people I knew, people I grew up with,” Davis said before the draft while speaking to Chris Dortch of NBA.com. “My high school coaches all thought I was going to choose football. A lot of people did.”
Davis soon began to doubt his decision, after he only saw 6.9 minutes of action in 19 games, ultimately averaging just 1.9 points per game his first season in Oxford in 2015-16. “After I didn’t play much my freshman year, I thought, did I choose the wrong sport?” Davis said. “Were people right about football? Did I make a mistake?”
Davis added, “It was gut check time for me. I couldn’t let all those people [who thought he should play college football] be right. I’m going to put all my time and effort into basketball.”
What happened next was the beginning of Davis’ development into an NBA prospect. In his sophomore season, Davis was one of the most improved players in college basketball, as he averaged 14.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Davis continued to provide steady play for Ole Miss in his junior season before he made another leap this past season. Davis averaged 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, all while he connected on 37.1 percent of his 3-pointers. The increase in production led to Davis being named to the All-SEC Second Team. It is the offensive arsenal that includes shooting and playmaking that he showcased during the 2018-19 season and hopes to put on display with the Nuggets Summer League team.
"I feel like a lot of people don't know that I can make plays with and without the ball,” Davis told Nuggets.com. “I can create for others, you can put me in pick-and-roll and I can be a secondary ball-handler. There's a lot of things I can do that I haven't really shown. With the NBA game being spaced out, I definitely think it will help me show things in Summer League."
However, Davis takes just as much, if not more pride in his defensive abilities. “The main thing I want to show teams is I can be a defensive guy,” Davis told Dortch before last month’s draft. “I can be a 3 and D guy, but for me, the D comes before the 3. If I want to play at the next level right away, that’s got to be my main focus.”
Given the focus on defensive schemes that involved switching in the modern NBA, Davis believes he can be a versatile defender in the backcourt.
"I think I can switch one through three, maybe one through four depending on the matchups with teams going to small-ball,” Davis said after Monday’s Summer League practice. “Definitely one through three. I've got a physicality to my game, having played football in high school. I feel like I can also handle my own on some of the bigger guys at the four position."
Davis will certainly have his opportunities to show what he can do on both ends of the floor. As teams across the league continue to search for two-way guards and wing players, Davis’ skill set is certainly intriguing.
Any team that provides Davis with an NBA opportunity will also feel confident in knowing they are getting an extremely hard-worker that will commit himself to any role a team gives him.
"I just want to show teams that I'm an NBA player and that I can do whatever role they want to give me until I am able to expand my role,” Davis said. “Just being able to show teams that I play with energy, super competitive and I'm willing to just get the job done."
It didn’t take long for Davis’ work ethic and commitment to improving to impress his most recent coach at Ole Miss.
“I know one thing,” says Kermit Davis, who took over at Ole Miss in 2018. “He’s going to live in the gym and hang on every word they say. There’s no doubt he’s talented enough to play in the NBA.”
The Nuggets kick-off their 2019 Summer League play against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, July 5 at 9:30 p.m. MT. The game will air on ESPN.