Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell, UD Athletics
This weekend’s Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Baltimore Arena will be a homecoming for University of Delaware Senior Davon Usher, who has been on a long journey since graduating from Digital Harbor High School in 2010. Usher, a native of Southwest Baltimore’s Mt. Clare neighborhood, spent his first two season playing for Polk State Junior College in Winter Haven, FL and spent the 2012-13 season at Mississippi Valley State where he averaged 18.8 points per game as a junior.
After learning Mississippi Valley State would be ineligible for postseason play in 2012-13, Usher was able to transfer to another Division I school without sitting out a year. He landed at the University of Delaware, home of the Blue Hens, after former AAU teammate Devon Saddler (Aberdeen HS), who was also a senior, recruited Usher to come to Newark, DE. Usher was excited to play with Saddler and to play an hour from his hometown.
The two friends immediately found success on the floor, leading Delaware to its first-ever CAA regular season title and to their first league title since winning the America East in 1998-1999 with a 22-9 record, when they finished 14-2 in league play.
“With every game, support from the school and community increased,” Usher told SouthBMore.com. “Now the whole state is excited.”
Both Usher and Saddler earned a spot on the CAA Men’s Basketball First Team. Usher averaged 19.4 PPG and lead the CAA in steals with 55 on the season, earning him a spot as well on the CAA All-Defensive Team. Usher’s 602 points this season are the sixth most in the University of Delaware’s history.
The Blue Hens’ regular season title has earned them the #1 seed in this weekend’s tournament. Delaware will play the winner of the UNCW/Hofstra game tomorrow at 12pm at the Baltimore Arena, less than a mile from where Usher played high school basketball.
“It’s really exciting that the tournament is in Baltimore. It brings me joy to know we can bring some business to the city,” Usher told SouthBMore.com. “I expect to have a lot of support. I’ve already spoken to teachers and former classmates at Digital Harbor who can’t wait to come out and see our games.”
Usher had a decorated career for South Baltimore’s Digital Harbor Rams led by Coach Johnny Grimes. During Usher’s junior year in 2009, the Rams won the school’s first-ever basketball state championship. During his senior year, Usher averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds per game, earning him a spot on The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro team.
Usher grew up playing basketball for the Bentalou Rec Center as well as for the AAU programs Baltimore Select and Nike Baltimore Elite. Along with Saddler, Usher grew up playing with an elite group of players including Josh Selby and Will Barton, who were both drafted in the NBA, as well as college players CJ Fair (Syracuse), Eric Atkins (Notre Dame), Damion Lee (Drexel), and Jordan Latham (Loyola). Former Digital Harbor teammates and brothers Justin and George Jackson both play at Division II’s Lincoln University.
“Baltimore players are humble and play with a chip on their shoulder,” said Usher. “We are hard-nosed and tough players who are not afraid to go up against anyone.”
Usher will graduate this year with a criminal justice degree and is hoping to eventually work for the FBI or the government, following in the footsteps of his uncle and grandmother. After college, Usher is open to any professional opportunities in basketball or in criminal justice.
With many opportunities available in professional basketball around the world, Usher was not focused on that possibility when asked. “Right now I’m focused on trying to win the CAA tournament,” he said.
“We’ve had one goal the entire season and that is to win this tournament. We are a tight-knit group, we are locked in and we are ready to go,” said Usher.
If Delaware can win the CAA Tournament, they’ll clinch the Blue Hens’ first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1999. The CAA Tournament semifinals will take place on Sunday and the championship will be on Monday night at 7pm. On the opposite side of the bracket is Towson University with the #2 seed.