Meet the Tide: Freshman Guard Brandon Davis
2/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Matt Hooper
Brandon “Scooter” Davis is the youngest member of the 2004-05 Alabama men’s basketball team. A freshman guard, Davis prepped at Selma High School in Selma, Ala., near the stomping grounds of fellow Tide player Chuck Davis. In the following interview, Brandon discusses his age, his roots and the origin of his peculiar nickname.
So Brandon, what’s it like to be the youngest player on the squad?
“Well, I think it’s great. I really don’t want to grow up anyway. You know, they tease me a little bit because I can’t go out and all that, but I don’t mind. They don’t haze me or anything like that.”
Head Coach Mark Gottfried has recruited several players around the Selma region in the time he has been at Alabama, including former players Erwin Dudley and Antoine Pettway, and current players such as yourself and Chuck Davis. Tell me about playing in Selma and the talent that can be found there.
“Well, the talent in Selma is pretty spread out. Everybody down there plays ball, and there are some really talented people. Pretty much all there is to do down there is play ball. I think people overlook the area too much, I really do. I mean, Pettway came from Wilcox and he was overlooked. He came here and was pretty good.”
Tell me what it has been like to move from being the focus of the team in Selma, to shifting into a learning role here in Tuscaloosa.
“It has been really rough mentally, because you’re going from on top to basically learning everything all over again. I just take it as it comes and move on. I have developed a lot of patience, you’ve got to.”
How far have you progressed in this system so far?
“I think I’m coming along pretty well. I’ve learned a lot of things that I didn’t even know about basketball. As of right now I think I coming along really good.”
Tell me about the nickname “Scooter.” Where did that come from?
“Well, I used to have a scooter when I was little. I used to take it and ride it to my grandmother’s house all the time. So that’s where the name ‘Scooter’ came from. It kind of stuck.”
