Overland senior De’Ron Davis. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Overland’s De’Ron Davis, the state’s consensus top boys basketball prospect in the 2016 class, committed to Indiana in a ceremony at his school on Thursday afternoon.
Davis’ announcement was streamed live by 9News.
“First off, (Indiana coach) Tom Crean, he’s been there for so long. He’s been there since my eighth grade year,” Davis said on the 9News stream. “So I have a real good connection with him.
“But just when I took my visit, the family atmosphere I’ve seen at Indiana and how they compete everyday in practice, getting each other better. That really stuck out to me, and led to my decision.”
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Davis, a forward who is listed at 6-foot-10, 240 pounds, picked Indiana over his other finalist, Mississippi State. He helped lead Overland to the Class 5A boys basketball championship last March. With him back, the Trailblazers are expected to be a favorite to repeat.
Davis has averaged double digits in scoring all three seasons he’s played for Overland. Last season, he averaged 16.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.1 blocks per game.
The senior is already fourth on the career list for blocks with 320, and if he stays near his pace from last season — 139 — he will break the record of 409. Davis will also likely climb into the top-10 on the career list for rebounds this season.
Davis racked up all kinds of offers during his nation-wide recruitment, but it ultimately came down to Indiana and Mississippi State. Also included in his offers were national programs like UCLA, Connecticut and Arizona.
He was a four-star prospect according to ESPN.com, 247Sports.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com. All four services list him as a top-50 national prospect in the 2016 class.
Davis plays club basketball for the Colorado Hawks.
The early signing period for the 2016 class opened on Wednesday. Davis is the latest boys basketball player to announce his college choice.