Kentucky reaches out to Detroit Mercy star Antoine Davis
Kentucky has reached out to the third-leading scorer in college basketball — and someone with close ties to the program.
Detroit Mercy star Antoine Davis, who averaged 23.9 points per game as a senior in 2021-22, entered the transfer portal on Thursday. Since then, the 6-foot-1, 165-pound guard has heard from Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Auburn, Maryland, Alabama, Purdue, Ohio State, LSU, Kansas State, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Hofstra, Minnesota and Central Florida.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was the first to report Kentucky’s interest.
Davis broke Stephen Curry’s freshman 3-point record with 132 makes from deep and averaged 24.6 points over the course of his four-year career. He earned All-Horizon League honors every season at Detroit Mercy.
Brad Calipari, son of John Calipari, played with Davis at Detroit Mercy from 2019-21. The Kentucky head coach is a longtime friend of Titan head coach Mike Davis, the standout transfer’s father.
“They are friends, know each other, trust each other,” Brad said of his dad’s relationship with Mike Davis, per ESPN. “That made me more comfortable coming here because I knew my dad trusted him. When I came down here, I liked him, and obviously I would ask my dad, ‘What do you think?’ Knowing he had that prior relationship and knowing he was comfortable made me more comfortable.”
When Brad committed to Detroit Mercy, the Kentucky head coach said he welcomed the move and trusted Davis with his son.
“I’ve coached against Mike and know him well,” Calipari wrote on Twitter. “I have great respect for him as a coach and as a leader of young people.”
Now the roles are reversed. The Detroit Mercy head coach is looking for a landing spot for his son, and Calipari is interested in returning the favor. Brad is also on Kentucky’s staff, joining the program as a grad assistant last August.
Will Davis spend his final year of eligibility in Lexington? Step one has taken place.
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