CHARLOTTE, N.C. — RJ Davis made something clear Friday before he leads the North Carolina Tarheels against Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Spectrum Center to earn a spot in the Sweet 16. I wanted to wake up.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, high school and college basketball in New York is not dead.
Davis, a senior guard from White Plains who attended Archbishop Stepinac High School, and Tyson Walker, his Spartans backcourt counterpart, are fellow seniors from Long Island and attended Queens High School and Christ the King High School. It definitely proves that.
Davis leads the top-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) with 21.1 points per game.
Walker led the Spartans with 18.2 points per game.
This part of Charlotte is well-represented in the New York metropolitan area, including these two star players, Cormac Ryan, a Tar Heels graduate guard from Manhattan who went to college school, and West Orange, N.J. There’s freshman guard Elliott Cadeau.
That means three of North Carolina’s five starters are from the Met Area.
And Tennessee junior point guard Zakai Zeigler is averaging 11.9 points per game. He is from Long Island.
Texas guard Ithiel Horton is from Vauxhall, New Jersey, located in Union County, a suburb of Manhattan.
Davis said he is bringing a New York flavor to the area.
“I want to cherish this game very much, because a lot of people want to say that New York basketball is in decline, but I want to see a lot of New Yorkers come here to represent us, especially “The presence of the New York guard shows that we are still here,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything like New York security.”
When asked what distinguishes New York guards, Davis said: “Our toughness, our mindset, our mentality and our confidence. All of these traits are reflected in who we are, and every time we step on the court, we have the belief that we can accomplish anything and we have no doubts.” I’m living without one.”
Davis is eager to play Walker for the highest stakes ever since they spent a lot of time playing against each other in high school.
“It’s always a great matchup against New York guards,” he said. “It’s always like a back-and-forth game. It kind of feels like I’m in a park. I just played in high school. [Walker] He’s always been very good and now he’s doing his thing in college. I’m looking forward to it. ”
Walker is very modest and humble for such a star, but he feels he owes something to Davis, whose high school team beat him in the 2018 city championship.
“Yeah, he won,” Walker said Friday. “It was a good game. I remember he got in foul trouble early and didn’t play much in the first half, but he definitely won.”
Wahler said he knows Davis “pretty well,” adding, “I watch everything he does.” I’m from New York, so I watch it all the time. He’s a good guy. ”
Asked to describe Davis’ play, Walker said, “He’s aggressive and confident and you can’t take that away from anyone.”
Davis called Walker “an unassuming, really humble kid,” adding, “Those guys are great players. Humble, confident, understated.” That’s just excellence. ”
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is traditional and traditionally reluctant to accept transfer students. The reason is as follows. I think it ultimately hurts the kids. ”
But three years ago, he welcomed Walker with open arms as a transfer from Northeastern.
“In his case, we knew he had several years to live.” [of eligibility] I was out, but it was three years because of COVID, so it wasn’t just a one-year suspension,” Izzo said. “We had a need and he was exactly what we were looking for.”
Izzo praised Walker’s parents and his upbringing.
He, too, recalled the moment when Walker went from just a good basketball player who did all the right things to the next level.
“His first year, he had a decent year and we played against Duke in the NCAAs.” [Tournament] And when we lost and we went into the locker room, he was kind of a quiet kid, and the first thing he said to me was, “Can I talk to the team?” ” Izzo told the Post. “I said, ‘Of course.’ He thanked everyone and said this is the thrill of his life. It was so real, so cool, so disenfranchised, but now we… has too much of it.
“Then I fell in love with the guy, even though I really liked him. I said, ‘Wow, that was one of the great speeches I’ll always remember. ” He’s not a loudmouth. I think that was the moment when he made many people realize that “you guys were lucky.” Don’t take it for granted. And I appreciated it.
“What will he bring?” He knows everyone. He’s played in all the big games. He knows RJ. He is liked by everyone. That’s what I like about him. ”
