LAFAYETTE (KATC) – From the courts at Girard Park to the University of Houston, Lafayette native Corey Davis Jr. has never backed down from a challenge. Even at an early age, Davis has found ways to raise the bar.
“He was scoring a lot of points. They wanted to make a rule that he had to sit out a quarter,” Svonnie Trailer, Davis’ mom explained. “They allowed him to finish the season there. We didn’t go back because they made special rules as a 6 year old.”
That standard continued at Lafayette High School, where Davis was the All-Acadiana MVP, after leading the Lions to an undefeated district 3-5A championship as a senior. Davis signed to play for the hometown Ragin’ Cajuns out of high school, but was ruled academically ineligible, forcing him to enroll at San Jacinto Junior College. A setback then, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“My game just wasn’t there yet. My game wasn’t mature enough,” Corey Davis said. “Even me as an individual wasn’t mature enough out of high school.”
After growing his game at SJCC, Davis signed with Houston in 2017. In two years with the Cougars, Davis became the team’s best player. His 17 points per game as a senior landed him on the AAC 1st team. Davis became the 2nd in program history to drain 100 3’s in consecutive years. He also led the Cougs to the sweet 16 for the first time since 1984.
“No was not an answer for us. We just came out, played hard every night,” Davis proclaims. “Ultimately it led to this. I’m just proud of everything I individually accomplished at Houston, and as a team we accomplished.”
Davis is now getting prepared for the NBA Draft, where he’s projected to go as high as the late 1st round. His lifelong dreams are within his grasp, all because he never settled.
“I know for as a fact as a kid, I wanted it more than anything,” Davis explains. “At the time, it wasn’t realistic enough. Just for it to manifest the way it did. It’s a blessing, because i wasn’t going to stop working. No matter if I believed it was going to work or not.”
