By Rubin E. Grant
Ty Davis doesn’t know how old he was the first time he picked up a basketball, but seemingly he has had one in his hands his entire life.
That’s not surprising considering Mountain Brook’s 6-foot-5 junior guard belongs to a family of ballers.
His dad, Tyler Davis, grew up in the Hoosier State basketball hotbed of Elkhart, Indiana, playing AAU for his dad, Jack Davis, and at Concord High School for legendary Indiana coach Jim Hahn. Tyler Davis was a high school teammate of Shawn Kemp, a six-time NBA All-Star, and earned a scholarship to Samford. He’s now in his third season as Mountain Brook’s head coach.
Ty Davis’ mother, whose maiden name was Ashley Sharp, played basketball at Oak Ridge High School in Tennessee and at Samford, scoring the first points in the history of the Bulldogs’ women’s basketball program.
His younger brother Trey plays on the junior varsity at Mountain Brook and his younger sister Avery plays on the Mountain Brook Junior High eighth-grade team.
“It’s awesome being in a family where everyone likes basketball,” Ty Davis said. “We’re always having fun, watching it, playing it or talking about it.”
Ty Davis also enjoys playing for his dad. He’s been on the Mountain Brook varsity since he was a freshman, which also happened to be Tyler Davis’ first year as head coach after being elevated from assistant coach to replace Bucky McMillan. The Spartans won the Class 6A state championship that season.
“It’s been pretty good playing for him,” Ty Davis said. “He keeps the basketball stuff on the court and does the family stuff at home.”
On the court, Tyler Davis considers his son a coach on the floor.
“This is my third year of actually coaching him and watching his game develop,” Tyler Davis said. “He’s an extension of me on the floor. As a freshman, he played off the ball and last year he was our point guard, but I don’t really watch him closely until I watch film.
“I see a guy who has become a veteran player and has taken his game to another level and a guy who can’t get enough of being in the gym.”
Earlier this month, Ty Davis surpassed 1,000 points for his career in a 71-44 victory against Shades Valley on Jan. 13. He posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists to go with five rebounds.
“It was a really fun moment in my career,” Ty Davis said. “Not many people have reached 1,000 points. It makes me want to work even harder.”
Ty Davis is averaging 19.1 points, 6.1 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game this season. He has had to shoulder more of the scoring load with senior guard Kyle Layton out all season with a knee injury that occurred in the summer.
“Without Kyle I’ve had to be more ball dominant,” Ty Davis said. “You don’t have many guys who can play better than Kyle.”
Opponents know Ty Davis will have the ball in his hands and gear their defenses to stop him, but he continues to do things necessary for the Spartans to win. Mountain Brook entered this week with a 16-6 overall record and were 4-0 and in first place in Class 6A, Area 10.
“He has definitely had to step up without Kyle,” Tyler Davis said. “A lot of teams have doubled-teamed him and face-guarded him, but he still has good numbers.”
Last week, Ty Davis scored 24 points and handed out 10 assists in a 93-58 blowout of Pell City. He had 17 points and five assists in an 88-47 victory against Woodlawn on a night when the Spartans celebrated the 10th anniversary of their 2013 state championship team, the first in school history.
Ty Davis is starting to draw significant interest from colleges. Alabama head coach Nate Oats and Virginia head coach Tony Bennett have recently been by to watch him. He has received offers from Ole Miss, Samford, Iowa State, Rice, Tennessee Tech and Lipscomb.
“It’s been really humbling, just to see a bunch of coaches interested in me,” Ty Davis said.
In the meantime, Ty Davis is trying to help the Spartans continue their quest to win another state championship, even though he has adopted his dad’s philosophy when it comes to the Spartans’ focus.
“Our goal is to maximize our potential,” he said. “We are not focused on winning a state championship, but we are focused on winning each day and getting 1 percent better.”
