Melvyn Jerome Davis (born November 9, 1950) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player.
A 6'6"
power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...
from
St. John's University, Davis played four seasons (1973–1977) in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
as a member of the
New York Knicks and
New York Nets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. He averaged 5.3 points and 4.3
rebounds in his NBA career.
After taking his basketball career to Europe, where he played in Italy, France, and Switzerland, Davis oversaw the
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
division of
PepsiCo. Shortly after, he returned to the NBA and began a long career running player programs; orienting rookies and helping players make a smooth transition to the world post-basketball. In 2005, he was personally appointed by
David Stern
David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...
and accepted the position of Executive Director of the
National Basketball Retired Players Association
The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) is a non-profit association composed of former professional basketball players of the NBA, ABA, Harlem Globetrotters, and WNBA. It was founded in 1992 by NBA Hall of Famers Dave DeBus ...
.
Davis holds a marketing degree from St. John's,
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. s in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
and
counseling from
Fordham University, and a master's degree in
career planning
Career management is the combination of structured planning and the active management choice of one's own professional career. Career Management is an umbrella term that covers Career Planning & Career Development on an individual level or at an ...
from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
.
External links
Career statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Mel
1950 births
Living people
All-American college men's basketball players
Allentown Jets players
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from New York City
Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni
New York Knicks draft picks
New York Knicks players
New York Nets players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Power forwards (basketball)
St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players