Antoine Davis, 3 points from NCAA record, reacts to backlash
INDIANAPOLIS (BVM) – Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis has ended his college basketball career with 3,664 points. The Titan landed four points shy of breaking Pete Maravich’s NCAA all-time Division I scoring record of 3,667 – which was set with the LSU Tigers in 1970.
Davis, a 6-foot-1, 24-year-old guard, played his final collegiate game on March 2 in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament against Youngstown State. Since his final attempt at the record, Davis has been receiving a ton of hate across his social media – simply because fans are claiming that Davis didn’t deserve the coveted college basketball record anyways.
“My career can’t and won’t be taken away from me,” Davis tweeted on March 14. “If people were in my shoes, they would feel the same way. It’s weird how people are moving about this.”
Davis is seemingly discouraged that fans are trying to disqualify his career point total through the likes of these facts:
– Maravich set the NCAA career scoring record in three seasons (1967-70) while Davis spent 5 years playing college basketball (2018-23).
– Davis has played in 144 games while Maravich played in just 83 games – meaning Davis had 61 more opportunities to break the record.
– Maravich averaged 44.2 points throughout his career while Davis averaged far less at 25.4.
– Maravich didn’t have the benefit of the 3-point shot since the NCAA didn’t universally implement a 3-point line until 1986. Davis’s 3-pointers have totaled 588 points.
– Unlike Davis, Maravich didn’t have the benefit of the shot clock.
Many were also quick to point out that Maravich couldn’t play on the varsity team as a freshman due to then-NCAA rules. So, Maravich’s career total would look more like 4,408 points over four years thanks to his 741 points as a freshman.
But on Davis’ side, some could argue that he’s faced stiffer competition. It’s been more than five decades since Maravich played at LSU, and today, players are arguably bigger, better and stronger. At the very least, Davis should always be in the conversation as one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history simply because no one has gotten nearly as close to Maravich’s record.
For the 2022-23 season, Davis is the NCAA men’s points per game leader (28.2 points per game). The Titans went 14-19 overall this season so it’s no surprise why they didn’t qualify for the NCAA tourney or NIT.
Notably, the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) almost gave Detroit Mercy a chance to be among the 16 teams in the tournament so that Davis could break the NCAA scoring record. But, the Titans were ultimately left out.
Overall, Davis will likely stay as the No. 2 scorer in NCAA D-I men’s basketball history for quite some time. Davis seems hopeful for his NBA career and will likely pass on his shooting skills as a coach after a pro career.
I’d love that❤️💙 https://t.co/sba9rpBaXG
— Antoine Davis🦋 (@Youngdvs13) March 14, 2023
