Michael Anthony Davis (born August 2, 1956) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Playing as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, his career mostly took place in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, though he had a short stint 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 S ...

(NBA).

College career

Born and raised in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, Davis did not play high-school basketball, as he didn't make his school's team in 11th grade. However, after growing to 6-10, he took up the sport again. He moved to Shaw College,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, in 1974, living in

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring a ...

's house. As a sophomore, he played for

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Established in 1966, MCCC has an open-door admission policy. The West ...

, earning

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

All-American honours. Davis then moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, playing in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

, in 1976. He was an ACC Rookie of the week in 1976–1977, also being noted for his play that season, only his third of competitive basketball. However, in January 1978, he was kicked off the squad by coach

Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (born December 25, 1931) is a retired American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, t ...

after disagreements between the two, he stayed on scholarship at Maryland.

Professional career

Going undrafted in 1978, David moved to the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

where he would stay four years. Returning to the US in 1982, he joined the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, played in the summer league and exhibition games but was cut just before the season began. The center then joined

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

side Albany Patroons. After averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds (a league second best) per game with the Patroons, he was re-signed by the Knicks on 23 February 1983 on a 10-day contract to replace the injured

Vince Taylor Vince Taylor (14 July 1939 – 28 August 1991), born Brian Maurice Holden, was an English rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in ...

. He did not play during that period, nor when he signed a new 10-day contract but was finally signed to a permanent contract in March 1983 until the end of the season. Davis scored 5 points in six minutes on his

NBA 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 ...

debut, he would play in 8 games, averaging 1.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 3.5 minutes per game. After being released by the Knicks at the end of the season, he returned to Europe, this time with Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

side

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in 1983. With the Spaniards he would win the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 1985 Club World Cup.

References

External links

Liga ACB player profile
Retrieved 8 July 2015
Lega Basket Serie A profile
Retrieved 15 June 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Mike 1956 births Living people Albany Patroons players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basket Napoli players Basketball players from Jacksonville, Florida FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Limoges CSP players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players New York Knicks players Pallalcesto Amatori Udine players Pallacanestro Pavia players Pallacanestro Treviso players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Power forwards (basketball)