Athlete of the Week: Union-Endicott's Davian King
Our latest Athlete of the week, sponsored by Amphenol Aerospace takes us out to Union-Endicott where despite the Tigers' boy's basketball team being as young as they have been in years, they look unstoppable, guided by senior and leader Davian King.
"Uplifting my teammates," King said. "I like pushing them to get to the level that."
So far this season, the Tigers have been stellar and for Davian, he's been just about unstoppable, culminating in the Charlie Sibley Tournament MVP trophy. But the senior forward, really just cares about one thing...winning.
"Make It to States, win sectionals, win STAC, win regionals," King said. "I want to go far. I'm trying to go undefeated this season, and I'm just hoping they have the same mentality."
They, being a whole new crop of new Varsity Tigers with just three returning seniors.
"I'm excited that I get them now," said head coach Jordan Buck. "And I can start to get them to understand what we're doing as a team."
And although the season started less than a month ago, this squad already feels like more than a team.
"I think we have everything we need for a perfect team," said senior guard Cooper Hughes. "I think this year, there's more family than there was last year, so that's what it comes down to."
Already translating to wins, Davian and co. are 6-0...winning the Owego tipoff tournament, and coming away with a pair of convincing STAC victories where Davian averaged 15 a contest.
"My goal was just to win the whole thing," King said. "That's just me. But they had the same mentality as me, too. That's why we won the tournament."
Leading by example and that young UE team, is following so far.
"They're really helping groom our young players so they understand it and they're doing it in a positive manner," Buck said. "That's the best part, is they're always positive with the guys, make sure they understand what they're doing."
So Cooper and Davian keep trudging, believing in themselves and blocking out any outside noise.
"In the beginning of the season, people thought really low of us," Hughes said. "People thought, no, they don't have the seniors from last year. They don't have this, that, this. I think we have everything we need."
Because they believe that the potential for this team, and Davian is boundless.
"I think just the person that he is, honestly, he's a great kid," Buck said. "He's a great teammate to be around and I can always give him feedback and he takes it. He doesn't turn away or shy away from me. He's just a great player to have on a team and I'm glad that we still have him this year."
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