Recruiting Report: Darrius Davis (2021)
Don’t look now, but West Virginia is becoming a hot bed for high school basketball, and it’s getting done mostly due to increased competition. For the longest, Huntington Prep has been the only elite prep school opportunity in West Virginia, until their former coach Ryan Arrowood left the program to start his own.
That program, just a short drive from Huntington, was called Teay’s Valley Christian, and TVCS has made some big splashes so far in their short existence. Last year, they defeated rival Huntington Prep for the first time, and this year they beat a consensus top 10 team in the country in Oak Hill.
One of their biggest reasons for success has been Arrowood’s ability to recruit top talent. He started by getting some international kids, mostly in the 2019 class, and he’s used his success to branch out to American born players and guys in younger classes. He has three very good 2021 players, led by Pittsburgh native Darius Davis.
At 6’4”, Davis is a downhill combo guard with all the necessary physical and athletic tools to become a very good college guard moving forward. He transferred to TVCS this season, and says it’s been a great decision for the time being.
“It’s been going great,” Davis said. “It’s been a long, but great process and I think it’s worth it. I started off struggling a little bit but I’ve been finding pieces to my game. All Coach [Arrowood] does is work on your weaknesses and get you better and it’s been great so far.”
One of the things that Davis has struggled with is shooting the basketball, and for good reason. With his size and quickness, Davis doesn’t need to shoot jumpers to be successful, but both his coach and himself know that it’s something he’ll need to do to round out his game and make him successful and ready for the next level in a few years.
“Mainly it’s been catch and shoot,” he said about what he’s been working on. “Coach rips me when I don’t do it, I shot my first catch-and-shoot 3 today and it felt great. I’ve improved in my patience and poise on ball screens and my defense has gotten a lot better and I’m becoming a more complete player.”
While he isn’t a great shooter just yet, Davis has tons of potential on both ends of the floor. He’s able to beat his man in transition and in the half court, he lives in the paint where he can finish at and above the rim or make plays and he rebounds well on both ends of the floor. His mix of length and quickness makes him a versatile defender as well.
“I think I’m a great slasher that can drive the paint really well. I like to get my teammates involved, I’m a very unselfish player. I love playing defense, getting inside someone’s head, I love playing with energy it’s the best.”
Coaches already see the potential in Davis, as he already holds offers from La Salle and Rhode Island. Much like TVCS, Davis is an integral part of a new AAU program that has had a great start in ITPS out of Pittsburgh, who was on the Adidas Gauntlet in their first year of existence last year.
While he has the early offers, he says the recruitment is not what he’s worried about at this point, as he knows that if he continues to improve and play well that will take care of itself.
“My AAU director probably knows a lot more about my recruitment than I do. I’m not worried too much about that, I’ve just been at Teay’s Valley working hard and getting better to maximize my potential.”
“I just want to keep getting better and keep getting more confident. I know that if I play well the recruitment will take care of itself so I’m not worried about that. I just want to make my game as best as possible, keep getting wins and just keep doing my thing.”
As far as building two programs and helping a state get on the map for basketball, Davis has a lot on his plate, but he’s ready to work for it and we’re excited to continue to monitor his progress as a player and prospect moving forward.