Former Clover Park star gets new start at TCC
Derrick Davis had no idea where his life was headed. He was living with his father in a remote Kentucky town, working at a factory making automobile wheel rims.
Basketball seemed to be years in his past.
Out of the blue, Davis got a phone call. The man on the other end was Carl Howell, once an assistant coach at Eastern Washington University who had recruited Davis when he was a 6-foot-7 star at Clover Park High School in the 2006-07 season.
Howell was the athletic director at Tacoma Community College. Last spring, he resumed his duties as men’s basketball coach.
“I didn’t really know the team at all,” Davis said. “I was down for playing for Coach Howell.”
An established name can certainly carry weight in recruiting circles, and Howell has that, particularly in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC).
Not only has Howell stocked the TCC roster with local products, including Davis, he landed NCAA Division I recruit Kevin Dancer from California, and has turned the program’s fortunes. TCC (9-0) is the lone undefeated team in the league.
“We’ve proven in the past we can be successful,” said Howell, who won the 2002 NWAACC title at TCC. “I’m very well-connected in the basketball world, and people think very highly of our program. And kids want to win, that’s the big thing.”
A few examples of Howell’s basketball pipeline:
• Howell remains close to guard Rodney Stuckey, the EWU standout now with the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.
When Stuckey returned for offseason workouts last summer at TCC, he brought along Touissant Tyler, a former teammate at Kentwood. Tyler played one season at Bellevue CC, but had been out of basketball – until Stuckey recommended him to Howell.
• Dancer did not want to return to Glendale (Calif.) Community College after one season, so he asked Cal-State Northridge assistant Danny Sprinkle where to transfer. Sprinkle, who is friends with Howell, advised Dancer to go to Tacoma, where Dancer had friends.
• Guard Teaire Bell applied to the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) in September for a fifth season of eligibility at Foss High School. When it was denied, first-year Falcons coach Mike Cocke steered Bell toward Howell.
In some regards, Davis was Howell’s biggest gamble. Nobody questions his talent but in his final season at Clover Park, his temper that got him in so much trouble he didn’t finish the season with the Warriors.
Davis said he “fell into depression” after his grandmother, May Lewis, died in September 2006 – the beginning of his senior year.
“My grandmother was the backbone to my family,” Davis said. “It hit me hard. I was devastated. She was everything to me, and whenever I had a problem, I just went by her house.”
Davis’ anger issues made interested NCAA Division I programs hesitate. So Davis instead enrolled briefly at Umpqua CC in Roseburg, Ore., before moving to Kentucky with his father.
But after the call from Howell, Davis moved back to Tacoma in August.
“I had reservations (about him), but I also know college is different than high school, and you can control things a little differently,” Howell said. “In all honesty, he’s been great. He’s like the biggest cheerleader on the bench, he’s one of our best players, and he’s tough as nails.
“When he gets emotional, it’s because he cares.”
Davis comes off the bench and averages 9.6 points and roughly 16 minutes a game.
“I do feel like this is a second chance,” said Davis, who sports a tattoo commemorating his grandmother’s life on his right arm. “Some people aren’t blessed with it ... but Coach Howell really fought for me.”
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442
2008-09 NWAACC BASKETBALL PREVIEW
MEN
GREEN RIVER GATORS
Coach: Tim Malroy, third season.
2007-08 record: 10-16 overall, 7-9 NWAACC West.
Player to watch: Not all good NWAACC players are from the continental United States. If the Gators are going to get scoring, they’ll look to exploit the outside shooting of guard Cory Toombs (10.1 ppg, 4.6 apg), a native of Alaska.
HIGHLINE THUNDERBIRDS
Coach: Che Dawson, sixth season.
2007-08 record: 18-13, 12-4 West.
Player to watch: Score? Check. Handle the ball? Check. Wilson High product Shedrick Nelson (17.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg), a second-team, all-NWAACC West selection last season, is squad’s most potent perimeter weapon.
PIERCE RAIDERS
Coach: Bill Mendelson, fourth season.
2007-08 record: 11-18, 6-10 West.
Player to watch: Pierce lost three projected starters before September, so the team needs guard Malcholm Love (11.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg), a 6-foot-2 leaper and great rebounder, to come into his own.
SOUTH PUGET SOUND CLIPPERS
Coach: Marc Callero, third season.
2007-08 record: 14-15, 9-7 West.
Player to watch: The Clippers don’t have a backup point guard, so Callero expects Will Sharp (15.6 ppg, 6.0 apg), a 6-foot-1 freshman out of North Thurston, to run as often as his legs will allow him.
TACOMA TITANS
Coach: Carl Howell, 11th season.
2007-08 record: 7-17, 5-11 West.
Player to watch: Howell has always attracted good point guards at TCC, and Kentwood High graduate Toussaint Tyler (16.9 ppg, 4.9 apg) is no exception. His intensity and maturity lead a talented Titans group.
WOMEN
GREEN RIVER GATORS
Coach: Dennis Olson, second season.
2007-08 record: 12-14 overall, 6-10 NWAACC West.
Player to watch: When Rachel Fields gets untracked, the sophomore can carry a team on both ends of the floor. Her athleticism makes up for her lack of height (5-8) against bigger forwards.
HIGHLINE THUNDERBIRDS
Coach: Amber Rowe Mosley, sixth season.
2007-08 record: 11-17, 7-10 West.
Player to watch: Highline’s frontcourt isn’t one to mess with physically. Tera McCann (8.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg), a 6-foot freshman from Auburn, could play center. Instead, she’s a rugged matchup for other power forwards.
PIERCE RAIDERS
Coach: Ann Bowen, fifth season.
2007-08 record: 1-25, 1-15 West.
Player to watch: Pierce, which could use an infusion of youth, has it in forward Alychia Colon (11.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg), a Bethel High graduate who runs the offense from the wing.
SOUTH PUGET SOUND CLIPPERS
Coach: Dee Dee Horton, fifth season.
2007-08 record: 17-11, 13-3 West.
Player to watch: The Clippers reached the NWAACC tournament last season with just six players. One of them was University of Mary (N.D.) signee Alicia Richardson (10.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg), an aggressive scorer in the post.
TACOMA TITANS
Coach: Jenee James, second season.
2007-08 record: 5-21, 4-12 West.
Player to watch: Point guard Megan Block was a defensive specialist last season. This season, the sophomore out of Emerald Ridge runs the show while leading the NWAACC in scoring at 18.8 ppg.
Todd Milles, The News Tribune
