Alderson Broaddus Signs 1st-Team JUCO All-American

Recruiting in basketball is a year-round job. It never stops for whoever is the head basketball coach at ABU. I have followed Battler basketball long before I attended and graduated as a student at AB. Battler basketball has been extremely successful in recruiting good talent under head coaches like Rex Pyles, Jack Funk, Dave Barksdale, Tim Brinkley, Steve Dodd, Brett Vincent and Greg Zimmerman. Recruiting is a big part in any team's success.

In my year's of following ABU basketball, I always felt that Willie Davis was possibly ABU's biggest recruit. But that is just one man's opinion. There is much debate as to who is AB's best player ever: Willie Davis, Joe Miller, Terrell Eargle, Josh Allen, etc. But the best player ever and most prized recruit are two different stories. Willie was a big signee in June of 1987 for then head basketball coach Tim Brinkley. He came to Philippi with 1st-team Junior College All-American credentials. It was a big story when the Battlers landed Willie Davis as a press conference was even held. In a bit of a shocking development, Coach Brinkley would resign as head men's basketball coach at Alderson Broaddus to take a coaching and teaching job at Flagler-Palm Coast High School in Florida only two weeks after signing Davis. It would be Steve Dodd who would benefit a lot from Brinkley's efforts to land maybe AB's best recruit. Willie Davis would go on to be a three-time 1st-team NAIA All-American player under Dodd's tutelege.

Fast-forward to the start of the 2016-17 school year. It has been confirmed that Alderson Broaddus University has signed what could be considered the most decorated player to ink with the Battlers since Willie Davis. While 'decorated' never insures that they will be that type of player at a different school, it is always a good indicator when a recruit arrives with much fan fare.  With that said, Battler Beat has learned that 6'3" combo guard Mike Davis has signed with ABU. The native of Cleveland, Ohio and Garfield Heights High School graduate comes to AB after earning 2015 1st team NJCAA Division II All-American team honors. Davis averaged 20.5 points per game during his sophomore season at Lakeland Community College. His on the court performances were en route to the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference player of the year honors. He would also be named to the 1st-team All-Region XII team and held the National D-II player of the week honors as well.

Davis probably saved his best performances at Lakeland at the end of the season. The sophomore increased his production to 21.5 point per game in four games at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Danville, IL where he led the Lakers to a 3-1 record and a 5th-place finish.  He was selected to the National Tournament All-Tournament team for his accomplishments in Illinois. At the national tournament, Davis put together the following performances: 24 points against Schoolcraft CC (which was the #1 seeded team), 27 points against Garrett CC (MD), 14 points against Phoenix College and 21 points against CCBC-Dundalk out of Baltimore, MD. Lakeland finished the season with an overall record of 27-7 in 2014-15.

But Mike Davis' abilities go well above scoring. His highlight video below shows much of
what he can do on the defensive end of the floor. Coming out of Garfield Heights in Cleveland, he was known to be possibly the best defender in the area. His ability to play on both ends of the floor earned him several Division I offers coming out of high school. He would eventually commit to Northern Illinois but fate would land him at the junior college level. He would have D-I offers coming out of Lakeland. Verbal commits showed some of his offers after his tremendous sophomore campaign. But as often is the case with junior college players, they may fall a few credits short of qualifying for the NCAA Division I Clearinghouse levels. Just as the case was for Willie Davis, another player with the last name of Davis has given a D-II school a chance to show off their talents.


Head Coach Greg Zimmerman has had great success with the players he has landed from Lakeland CC. Both guard Sam Liggins and guard Nate Barnes would earn 1st-team All WVIAC honors in prior years for the Battlers after transferring to ABU from Lakeland. Liggins and Barnes have also had quality professional careers as basketball players overseas. We have linked Mike Davis' highlight video of his play at Garfield Heights High School during his senior year. He shows a tenacious defender, a scorer who can hit the three or break down a defender off the dribble for a drive to the basket or pull-up mid-range jumper. Davis also has an incredible ability to elevate off the floor for a player with this size.

Mike Davis Basketball Highlight Package

Davis will enroll at Alderson Broaddus during the spring semester this year. He has already signed his letter of intent with the Battlers. He will not play for ABU until the 2017-18 season where he will have to full seasons of eligibility left. We will reach out to Davis soon for a telephone interview for more information and quotes from Davis himself. We project Davis to play one of the two wing positions for the Battlers. Please continue to follow Battler Beat to keep up to date with breaking information.