Will Davis played cornerback during the fall at Red Bank.
He missed a few football games due to injury. He hasn't missed a basketball game as a senior, however, and he has taken a physical approach from the field to the court in almost every game this season.
With a double-double from Davis and three others scoring in double figures, the Lions crushed Hixson 75-37 in a District 6-AA game Monday evening.
"It's my senior year and I want to give it my all," Davis said. "If I'm running and I pass out on the court and they carry me off, then I'll know I gave it my all."
Davis scored 14 points and unofficially grabbed 11 rebounds against the Wildcats, who were stunned from the outset by the combination of Davis and Tradayl Autry on the post and the Lions' 1-3-1 full- and half-court defenses.
"Will has a little bit of meanness, a lot of want-to, and I think the best word is 'grit,'" Red Bank coach Nick Fike said. "He's not the tallest guy and we're not the tallest team, so that's what we have to play with - grit."
Malik McConnell led all players with 26 points, Autry scored 17 and Kolbi Suttles scored 15 for the Lions (13-8, 3-5). Keyshun Bradley led Hixson (8-11, 3-6) with 16 points.
Davis stands at 5-foot-9 - "5-10 if you count the hair," he said - and sports a mustache some 30-year-olds would be proud of. He claims to bench 250 pounds in the weight room, and he certainly used that strength against Hixson on Monday.
"When you go get rebounds, people sometimes get mad," Davis said. "I just smile. I did that tonight."
The Lions sprinted out to a 10-0 lead, and their 1-3-1 defenses allowed the Wildcats to score just four points in the opening quarter. Davis had five in helping the Lions take a 21-4 lead after the first eight minutes.
"We caused turnovers, frustrated them and bottled them up," McConnell said. "Nobody in the city runs a 1-3-1 like we do."
Nobody dominated the glass in Susan Thurman Gym on Monday like Davis. He pulled down rebounds at both ends of the court and scored at least two baskets on offensive rebounds. Part of his seasonlong success is genetic.
"My mom (Crystal Parker) played in the post at Brainerd," he said. "She taught me how to box out and even if somebody is boxing me out, how to switch it around and get position on them."
While Davis, Autry and Caleb Tate were controlling the rebounding, McConnell and Suttles handled the ball either driving to the basket or combining to make five 3-pointers.
The Lions forced Hixson into 16 turnovers in the first half and 22 for the game, which included a running clock in the fourth quarter.
"We have skilled guards and Malik is instilling confidence in everybody," Fike said. "We're as dangerous as anybody when we have four guards playing well."
And even better, like Monday, when Davis is on his game down below.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.