By Charlie Leffler
When Prileu Davis traveled from Arizona to the University of Louisville last year he had high expectations, not only from his teammates but from the coaching staff as well. A top junior college point guard, Davis was expected to make an immediate impact on the Cardinal team.
Unfortunately, the first impact Davis felt was in the form of an inadvertent elbow to the face. The blow left him with a broken cheekbone and required complicated reconstructive surgery.
Once Davis returned to the court, he faced an even greater battle to get back into the swing of things.
‘That”s a heck of a surgery he went through,’ said assistant coach Vince Taylor, ‘so now you kind of flinch so you don”t get hit in the face.’ On top of that, Davis also had to battle the normal woes that all first year Division I players have to go through.
‘He was probably overwhelmed when he got here,’ said Taylor. ‘It”s nothing against him, but the competition he played against in junior college was very minimal, so it was a shock at first coming here and playing against our guys.’
‘Prileu”s problem is he had a nasty injury,’ said head coach Rick Pitino, ‘and I”m not sure if he”s a point guard or a two guard. That remains to be seen. He may be able to play some two guard for us.’
For Davis, it was a transitional year, one that helped him in many ways. The trauma of injury and the disappointment of not living up to expectations allowed him to grow both spiritually and mentally. The surgery may have slowed him but he persevered.
‘It happened and there wasn”t anything I could do about it,’ he said. ‘It was a part of the past the day it happened. Now I”m just trying to concentrate on this year.’
Last season, if Davis hadn”t been injured, he could have seen a lot of playing time at the point because there was little depth. However, this year with Taquan Dean, Alhaji Mohammed Jr., Brandon Jenkins and Brad Gianiny providing more depth, Pitino is unsure how much time Davis will see on the floor.
‘I honestly don”t know,’ said Pitino. ‘He”s shooting the ball a whole lot better. He”s playing with more confidence, but at his position it”s a numbers game.’
Of the four guards, Davis will need to be the figure of maturity and leadership.
‘We hope he does,’ said Taylor, because there is no clear-cut favorite to play backup to Dean, the projected starter. ‘For a point guard, it”s a guy pushing it up, playing good defense, making good decisions and hounding the offensive player and being a good leader. He”s capable of doing that.’
Though Davis would be happy if the team finished the season as well as last year, he would still like to contribute more.’ I think every player wants to play,’ he said. ‘I”m definitely a part of that. I want to play.’
