‘I felt like it was home for me’: Modesto Christian’s BJ Davis commits to San Diego State
The goal of high school recruits looking for a college is to find a place full of like-minded coaches, players and staff that will help them maximize the time they have as an athlete.
Modesto Christian senior guard BJ Davis said he’s found that in San Diego State.
The 6-foot-2 guard announced Friday, Sept. 23, in front of friends and family in the Modesto Christian gym lobby, that he would become an Aztec.
Through his four years of high school, Davis picked up more than two dozen offers from NCAA Division I schools, including UCSB, Saint Mary’s, Drake University, Boise State and others. Saint Mary’s and Drake joined SDSU in Davis’ final three.
“The type of players they have there, there’s a like mindset,” Davis said of his decision to verbally commit to San Diego State. “I felt like it was home for me, really. They’re dogs, so that really did it for me.”
Crusaders’ head coach Brice Fantazia said the Aztecs were one of the teams always in the mix for Davis.
“San Diego State was kind of always there,’ he said. “They were all in. There’s always questions about a kid’s size but San Diego State had no questions about anything. They’ve been all in from the beginning.”
Davis wasn’t always scouted nationally.
Through his first two and a half years of high school basketball, he had to work without much to show for it, like other recruits. Some begin receiving national attention as early as their freshman year.
“He wasn’t one of the kids who was highly ranked as a freshman or sophomore and he just kept getting better and his recruitment just kept blowing up more and more,” Fantazia said. “I’m proud of him.”
As one of the leaders on last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section champion, State Northern California champion and State runner-up team, Davis began seeing more college interest.
Great showings at national AAU tournaments and the Section 7 tournament in mid-June made Davis a topic of conversation on recruiting sites, and the offers began to roll in. He went from unranked to one of 247Sports’ top 150 high school prospects in the nation. On June 28, he posted that he was offered by San Diego State.
“He picked the school that he felt was the best fit for him, but he had a lot of great options and he earned it,” Fantazia said. “He had a great summer playing on circuits.”
Just when things were blowing up, Davis had to be shut down. After getting sick, he had to miss about a month of summer basketball, which included sitting out a tournament and an invitation to attend a camp hosted and run by NBA superstar Damian Lillard. But just like in his recruitment, when things weren’t going his way, Davis stayed positive and used it as a learning experience.
“A lot happened to me with me getting sick and stuff,” Davis said. “It really just tested me and tested how strong I really am. I dealt with a lot this summer, I experienced a lot and gained a lot but I feel like it just prepared me for the next level.”
A lot has changed in a short amount of time for Davis. He’s gone from virtually unknown to receiving offers from top-25 college basketball teams in the nation but his family, friends and coaches have helped him stay humble. He’s been true to himself through the whole process.
“To be honest, I still feel the same as I did four years ago,” he said. “I never got too high on myself. I always just try to stay level. That was the best thing for me because … I really love the game of basketball, so that’s what kept me going.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 12:00 PM.
