Former SMU star Kendric Davis withdraws name from 2022 NBA Draft, commits to Memphis
Former SMU star Kendric Davis made a surprising change of heart on Friday evening, withdrawing from the 2022 NBA Draft and reaffirming his commitment to the Memphis Tigers. Check out the video he released on his Twitter page. The Tigers will be the third team he’s played for throughout his college career.
He recently committed to the Memphis Tigers on April 22, but decided to enter the 2022 NBA Draft.
After receiving offers from across the entire country, Davis cut down his list to five schools. The Houston Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks, TCU, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders were the other four in the running for Davis. Texas and Gonzaga had also previously been in the running. In the end, Memphis ended up winning out, with one of the top transfers in the country staying in the American Athletic Conference.
Memphis finished third in the AAC last season, making the NCAA Tournament as a nine-seed. Beating the Boise State Broncos in the Round of 64, the Tigers fell to Gonzaga in the next round. Adding somebody such as Davis will help Hardaway position themselves better to make a deep tournament run.
Davis is the No. 63 overall player to enter during the cycle according to the On3 transfer portal rankings. From the point guard position, he ranks at No. 11 and was one of the best available.
Davis played and started in 32 games for SMU last season, leading the AAC in scoring at 19.4 points per game. He additionally finished third in the conference with 4.4 assists per game. Davis also went on to win the AAC Player of the Year for his performances.
The Mustangs were not able to make the NCAA Tournament after a late push in conference play. Davis put a bow to his SMU career in the NIT, dropping 30 points against the Washington State Cougars. Now, he will be looking to bring his elite scoring to another big-time program.
Coming out of high school, Davis was a three-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services. Hailing from Houston, TX, the guard was a top 10 prospect within the state.
Davis will now be heading to the state of Tennessee to play for Hardaway and look to bring the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.