May 31, 2006
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND -- Joe Davis, who earned first team Associated Press all-state honors this past year at Warrensville Heights High School, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Cleveland State University and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2006. The announcement was made by first year Viking head coach Gary Waters.
"I am excited about adding a player as talented as Joe Davis is to the Viking basketball program," Waters said. "When you start to build a program like we are doing here, it is important that you find players who have the ability to score off the ball and I believe that Joe is capable of scoring against anybody on the court.
"It is also significant that the first new player that we have added is from the Greater Cleveland area because we are committed to making sure that players from Cleveland play an integral role in the foundation of the Viking basketball program."
A 6-0 guard from Warrensville, Ohio, Davis averaged 28.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists this past season, shooting .560 from the field, .828 from the line (140-169) and .495 from three-point (50-101). He was named the Lake Erie League Most Valuable Player en route to earning district MVP honors as well.
Davis, who averaged 19.1 points a game as a junior to earn special mention all-state accolades, was also named team MVP as both a junior and senior.
Waters also made several announcements regarding the roster for the 2006-07 season. He added to the roster forward Tristan Crawford (Steeleton, Pa./Highspire), who originally signed with CSU last summer but sat out the 2005-06 season in order to meet NCAA initial eligibility guidelines.
Crawford, a 6-4 forward, was named the Pennsylvania Class AAA Player of the Year by the Associated Press in 2004-05 after averaging 23.0 points a game and leading Highspire to a 32-3 record and the state title. He turned up his performance in the postseason, averaging 28.8 points in the four state tournament games. A third team all-state honoree as a junior, he ended his career with 2,141 career points.
Waters also announced that scholarship players Terry Walker and Ije Nwankwo will not return for the 2006-07 season. Walker will transfer to school near his hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich. while Nwankwo has elected to leave in order to pursue a professional playing career next season.
The Vikings return four starters and nine lettermen from the 2005-06 squad that went 10-18 and finished eighth in the Horizon League with a 5-11 mark.
