Humbled, Worldly and Focused, Former NBA Star Ricky Davis Sets Sights on Comeback

A born (and some say one-dimensional) scorer, Davis used his time abroad to transform his game into a far more well-rounded one.

Over the past 15 months, the man who once scored 20 points a game in the NBA has called three continents and four countries home.

Ricky Davis' travels started after he was waived the Clippers in the 2009-10 season -- following an 12-year NBA career -- when he picked up with Turkish club T?rk Telekom B.K in March of 2010. He left Turkey for China that October, signing with the Jiangsu Dragons, then headed to France in the spring, joining up with Chorale Roanne. Fully recovered from a knee injury that hobbled him during his years in L.A., he felt, as he put it, that he was "back."

So he came home. Urged on by a compact season that's already opened the door for 11 players out of the NBA D-League, Davis signed with the Maine Red Claws -- affiliate of his former team, the Boston Celtics -- and starts his NBA comeback tour on Thursday against the Canton Charge -- affiliate of another one of his former teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers. NBADLeague.com caught up with him after Red Claws shootaround on Thursday.

Kevin Scheitrum, NBADLeague.com: You?ve had a busy year. How are the frequent flyer miles doing?

Davis: I?ve got ?em built up. I?ve been to China. Been to France. All over.

NBADLeague.com: You were playing some great ball overseas. What prompted you to come Stateside, to the NBA D-League?

Davis: I think it?s better for me to stay in the States and work my way up to get called-up. Overseas is fun -- with FIBA, it?s great. But I think I?m more toward the end of my career.

NBADLeague.com: So obviously the goal here is to get back to the NBA as soon as possible, but do you have a mental timeline? What are your goals?

Davis: To come in and have fun. To come in and have fun, to help the team I?m on and get some victories, then let everything take care of itself. Pretty much trying to take it one day at a time, one play at a time and go from there.

NBADLeague.com: When you played, you were the quickest guy on the court. How has your game changed since you left the NBA?

Davis: Not at all. It?s pretty much the same game. I?m probably about two inches lower in my vertical. I?ve still got the quickness, and I?m just getting smarter as a veteran

NBADLeague.com: Sometimes it takes stepping away to learn something about yourself. What did you learn about yourself, about your game, after you left the NBA?

Davis: I learned a lot, of course. I just grew. It was more or less staying focused and looking back on some of the stuff that wasn?t good for me early in my career.

It was all a learning experience. I had fun with it, and now it?s about becoming a better player overall. A better teammate.

NBADLeague.com: Is there anything in particular you look back on and say, ?I wish I didn?t do this or that??

Davis: Not really. I did some bad things, but the only thing I regret is my triple-double. But everything else comes with experience. People forget I got drafted when I was 17, so I had a lot of young ?myself-myself? attitude, and now it?s more about being part of a team, and more of what I can do to help the team.

NBADLeague.com: You were always known as a scorer, maybe at the cost of the other parts of your game. But back then, you were scoring 20 points a game in the NBA. How much have you focused on defense and rebounding over the past few years?

People forget I got drafted when I was 17, so I had a lot of young ?myself-myself? attitude, and now it?s more about being part of a team, and more of what I can do to help the team.

Davis: Defense has always been there, but when you?re the leading scorer on the team you kind of shy away from the defensive end. But over the years, as you get more experience on defense, you learn that defense definitely helps in offense. And it?s been great working on rebounding and working on my whole-all-around game.

I want to get other people involved. I can score the ball. It?s like riding a bike. You never forget it.

NBADLeague.com: If you got called-up, you wouldn?t be the marquee scorer ? at this point in your career, what?s your value to an NBA team?

Davis: Being an all-around player, and still being that scorer. Definitely being a scorer is one of my skills, and it helps that I can definitely dish the ball and cheer my other teammates on. Instead of me being focused on playing 48 minutes, I?ll be focused on playing 25 minutes and helping get everybody the ball.

NBADLeague.com: How much did playing around the world make you appreciate what it?s like to play in the NBA?

Davis: A whole lot. One-hundred percent. It really humbles you. It brings you back to reality, and how you got there. [The NBA] was a good experience for me. I played 12 years, I could?ve kept going, but I think it was good for me to get humbled and start Path Two.

NBADLeague.com: What made you stick with the game, instead of hanging it up?

Davis: Those last few years with the Clippers, my knee was kinda hurting, I wasn?t explosive, but I didn?t want to let people know what was going on. I lost my explosiveness, and I couldn?t score the ball like I could in those two years.

Then, after the Clippers, I got my knee right, went overseas and realized I?m back.

NBADLeague.com: Just in the past year, you were in Turkey, China and France. Did you set up Get Bucket Brigades all over the world?

Davis: I sure didn?t. I actually wanted to, but it was hard with the language barrier. I got a couple church kids coming out [Thursday night], though ? 10-12 of them.

NBADLeague.com: How?d the language-learning go? Did you pick up anything?

The NBA was a good experience for me. I played 12 years, I could?ve kept going, but I think it was good for me to get humbled and start Path Two.

Davis: I can talk a little in Turkish, and I know a little French. Chinese is a little tough, though.

NBADLeague.com: The NBA D-League is known as a place where you make your mark in rebounding, defense and ball control. Are you looking to really play up the rebounding angle of your game? Maybe go after more balls than you normally would, and put less of a focus on scoring?

Davis: I?m coming in to grab boards and do what I do best, and that?s scoring. I added in the getting-people-involved part, but you gotta do what you do best, and for me that?s scoring.

NBADLeague.com: How much did having a shortened, compact schedule ? with a lot of expected player movement ? have to do with your coming to the NBA D-League?

IDavis: That had a lot to do with it ? it was a big plus. With a short season and not knowing your whole roster, and a short training camp, I think it?ll be good for me as a veteran player, to sneak in there and make a roster.

NBADLeague.com: A lot of the veterans in the NBA D-League talk about how much they enjoy being able to teach the younger guys, in addition to their own quest for the NBA. What are you gonna try to get across to the young guys?

Davis: You tell them to stay focused. You can lose focus from game to game to game, and the thing is to go game to game, don?t get too cocky, stay humble and make others better. I think that?s when you become more successful and powerful, when you?re making others better.

NBADLeague.com: A lot of the Maine fans know you from your Celtics days. How excited are you to play in front of them?

Davis: Absolutely. I think that was a great place for me, in Maine, and Boston, where we got the Bucket Brigade still over there. It?ll be great for me to go back to where I had a great time playing. And I?m starting in a game where we?re playing Cleveland, I mean Canton, so those are two of my old places. I?m looking forward to contributing

Source: http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/ricky_davis_reclaws_q_and_a_2011_12_29.html

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