By Adam Riglian
For the last month on ESPN, there have been endless commercials for the Sebastian Telfair story “Through the Fire.” The movie tells the tale of the legendary high school player and his tough road to the NBA. NU guard Aaron Davis has been through his own fire, in the form of multiple injuries, to become a team captain and key player.
Davis, a sought-after recruit and All-County player in New Jersey, was named to USA Today’s “Players to Watch” from his home state. He came to Northeastern in 2001 and made an immediate impact, becoming the first freshmen ever to lead the team in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game. In spite of that, this season also marked the beginning of Davis’s injury woes, missing five games because of a knee injury.
His sophomore year he battled a shoulder injury that bothered him so much, he needed to redshirt for his junior year. He started only seven times and missed two games with a knee injuries. He only managed 6.9 points a game and had his worst season shooting .379 from the floor, as he could not overcome the pain he was forced to play with.
“My whole career I was always hurt,” Davis said. “If I could do one thing different, it would be to not get hurt as much.”
Davis’ senior year was a resurgence. The injuries dissipated and he was named one of the team captains. Although he couldn’t match the double-digit points per game of his rookie season, he did average 9.7 points and shot a remarkable .459 from the floor. Davis’ 13 points against James Madison helped carry the Huskies to the Colonial Athletic Association semifinal game where they shocked the conference with an upset of Old Dominion, which Davis called the greatest game of his career.
“This year when we beat Old Dominion was special,” Davis said. “Nobody expected us to win that game. It’s the games that your not supposed to win that are the best.”
Davis will also always hold the distinction of being the 26th man in Northeastern basketball history to score 1,000 points in his career, a feat he accomplished in the final regular season game against Towson. He ended his career with 1,033 points.
Davis has been offered tryouts with some overseas teams and hopes to extend his basketball career.
