Last season, with a who’s who of college coaches on hand to see then-Kentridge High senior and eventual Gonzaga recruit Gary Bell take on Mount Rainier High, a freshman stole the show.
Mount Rainier phenom Adrian Davis kept pace with Bell, scoring 29 points to Bell’s 33.
“He’s a good player,” Davis, now a sophomore, said of Bell. “I knew I had to bring my game.”
While Kentridge got the victory, Davis officially put himself on the recruiting radar of some of the top programs on the West Coast.
With Bell graduated, the 6-foot-1 Davis is poised to take over as the best player in the SPSL North.
Davis, a second-team all-league selection last year, led the Rams in scoring with 19 points per game and was second in the league in steals.
“I’d never had a freshman come in and lead us in scoring like that,” said Mount Rainier coach Brian Johnson, who’s entering his ninth season with the Rams.
But despite Davis’ great numbers, the Rams struggled in their first season as a Class 4A school, finishing fifth in the league.
“We were very young,” Johnson said. “We lost five games by a total of 10 points. At the end of games, we’d just give (the lead) up.”
Whether it was missing crucial free throws, committing bad fouls or just throwing the ball away, the Rams couldn’t seem to close things out when it mattered the most.
“It was frustrating,” Davis said.
But with those learning experiences now under their belt and a roster with four returning starters, the Rams are the favorite to win the SPSL North this year.
Davis will play a key role in the turnaround. After getting whistled for too many offensive fouls last season, the sophomore has improved his game, working hard this summer to develop his jump shot.
“I was taking it to the rim early in the shot clock,” he said. “I had a lot of shooting workouts over the summer. Now I’m more comfortable with my shot.”
Davis is also getting more comfortable within the flow of the offense.
“He’s improved his shot selection,” Johnson said. “He would get a lot of charges called on him because he wouldn’t recognize the help side defense. He was also trying to jump over people to lay it in. He’s gotten a lot smarter.”
Davis has also worked on his free throw shooting, something that plagued him last year.
“I wasn’t used to getting to the line,” Davis said. “I didn’t have a (shooting) routine.”
The Rams have a solid supporting cast around Davis in senior point guard Malik Rogers, 6-4 junior forward Caden Rowland (14 points per game last year) and Dwane Clay. Johnson says Clay is the team’s best rebounder.
The Rams went undefeated during a fall league at Highline Community College, and, so far, Davis likes what he’s seen.
“This year,” he said, “we’re closer as a team.”
Davis has embraced his role as a leader and wants to set an example for his teammates, especially in the final moments of the game.
“I like having the ball in my hands,” he said.
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