UCF’s defense helped establish their momentum early in the first half versus UMass and redshirt sophomore A.J Davis led the pack with his aggressive play on defense and offense.
“Our defense from the beginning kind of shook those guards,” Davis said. “UMass has three great guards…we did a great job of getting out there and making sure they had no easy looks and containing them the best we could.”
Davis’ defense led to offense as he scored a team high 14 points and propelled the Knights to victory. He hit a key a layup when then the team was down by four points with 2:54 remaining in the second half. Followed by a key box out to get the ball back and then tied the game at 61-61 with 1:35 remaining.
“He started driving the ball at the end and I think that’s where he’s really good,” Head Coach Donnie Jones said. “He really got to the rim and really made some big plays down the stretch.”
The leadership Davis carried was prominent during the game; his teammates seemed to feed of his play.
“A.J’s personality is very attractive,“ Jones said. ”Guys attract to him because he’s a great competitor, he’s a great practice guy, he’s high energy and he brings it. It’s hard not to respect that every day.”
“He plays with great energy every night,” Jones added. “You know what you’re getting from him.”
Davis plays with great toughness, reminiscent of his dad, Antonio Davis, who played 15 seasons in the NBA and is currently a NBA analyst for ESPN.
“At his size, he’s a little bit bigger than me, so we’re two different players,” Davis said. “But I still try to learn to play like he did.”
Having a former NBA player as a father, Davis has a lot of basketball knowledge and that helps him with his leadership.
“I’m a vocal guy, so I try my best to talk and communicate,” Davis said. “I been around the game for a long time, so I try to speak up and just encourage everybody.”
