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 (appro ...

player. Playing as a center, his career mostly took place in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, though he had a short stint in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA).

College career

Born and raised in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, 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 List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, in 1974, living in Dave Bing's house. As a sophomore, he played for

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...

, earning

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

All-American honours. Davis then moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, playing in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) of the

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

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

Professional career

Going undrafted in 1978, Davis moved to the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, 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 The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

. He averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds (a league second best) per game with the Patroons. Davis was selected as the CBA Newcomer of the Year and named to the All-CBA First Team and All-Defensive Second Team. He was re-signed by the Knicks on 23 February 1983 on a 10-day contract to replace the injured Vince Taylor. 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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

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. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

side

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

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 S.S. 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 Virtus Roma players Power forwards Undrafted NBA players 20th-century American sportsmen