Chargers' Joel Davis signs with Cornell

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on May 16, 2015 11:27 PM

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aetlzer@newsargus.com

Wayne Country Day athletics director Michael Taylor walked into the office and placed a box of tissues on the desk.

Negleatta Davis sometimes gets a little tearful these days.

She has the right to be.

She's a proud mama because her son, Joel, is headed to the Ivy League. He officially signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at Cornell University next season.

"I am just on a cloud right now," Negleatta said. "It's difficult to put into words. As a mom you're proud of your kids as a basketball player, but I am so proud of him for having a goal academically and achieving it."

One of the Big Red's top recruits, Davis verbally committed to Cornell last July. To meet the school's tough academic requirements, Davis had to improve his test scores and tried on multiple occasions.

His last chance to take the ACT a couple of weeks ago got postponed due to the shooting at Wayne Community College.

Davis had to wait one more week.

"Man, I was already nervous and there wasn't anything else I could really do," Davis said. "I had already learned everything I was going to learn. I just had to wait."

When Davis finally received his results and read them near his locker, he sprinted down the hallway toward the office of head basketball coach David Flowers.

"I think I Mike Tyson'd him a few times," Flowers joked. "I might have punched about eight times. We were so excited, in here yelling 'let's go!'"

Davis didn't share the news with his mom in such a celebratory way. Already nervous about her son's future, she called Cornell head coach Bill Courtney to ask what would happen if Davis did not get the scores.

"It will be OK," Courtney told her. "We have a plan in place in case something happens."

Then the dreaded call came from her son.

"Mom, I didn't get the scores," Davis told her.

Her heart dropped.

"So I tell him it's OK, I called Coach Courtney and he said they have some things in place for this, so I'll call him and see what we can do. And then he told me that he actually got the scores ... I just couldn't contain myself," Negleatta said.

She quickly forgave her son's "joke."

Flowers realized Davis' potential the first time he stepped onto the basketball court and had the potential to be one of the best players in WCDS history. He called Courtney and the coaching staff fell in love with Davis' ability.

When Negleatta heard Cornell was in New York, she quickly struck that school from the list -- momentarily.

"Automatically, I said no you're not going there, it's too far." Negleatta said.

The Big Red coaching staff continued to show their support for Davis and traveled to North Carolina on seven different occasions to watch him play -- most were surprise visits.

"They said he is their guy," Flowers said. "They said they traveled to visit him more than almost any other player they've recruited ... I would be in my office and coach Courtney would walk by and I'd be like 'what are you doing here?' And he'd tell me he came to check on Joel."

After transferring to Wayne Country Day from Rosewood, Davis spent a lot of his time as a stretch forward -- a shot-blocking presence on defense and an inside-outside player on offensive. Cornell views Davis as a shooting guard. With unrivaled athleticism and good dribbling ability, the biggest flaw in his game at the next level may be a consistent jump shot from outside.

The Cornell staff sent Davis a workout designed to help with his jump shot. If that improves, he could become a potential mismatch nightmare at the next level, with the post ability to take advantage of smaller guards, and the athleticism to beat bigger players off the dribble.

But, Davis knows basketball ends -- either after high school, college or 10 years in the pros. Getting into Cornell was most important so he could receive a top-notch education. He plans to pursue a degree in nutritional science and earn a career in physical therapy.

"Everybody deals with injuries in sports, and it seems like something I would like to help people with," said Davis, who missed five games due to a knee injury late in the season.

"It was hard because I'm a competitor so I wanted to be out there with them. I tried to play, but my mom wouldn't let me."

But Davis' story isn't all about basketball.

It's about a gifted young man who chose not to ride only his athleticism, but match it with his mental ability.

"This isn't a decision for the next four years," Negleatta said. "This is a decision for the next 40 years. He'll get an Ivy League education and that is what will pay off 40 years from now."