Vernell Davis

02/15/04: "Tulsa Head Coach John Phillips and staff are continuing to recruit to fill some immediate needs for next year’s team. With rebounding and interior defense a likely requirement for this spring’s recruiting class, TU is looking at several inside players in both junior college and high school.

According to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M head coach Jason Turk, Vernell Davis, a 6-foot-8 and 220-pound athlete, is starting to really play well, after an early season ankle sprain. “Vernell’s averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 blocks per game for us,” said Coach Turk. “But in the last few games, he has put together games of 20 points and 10 rebounds; 20 points, 5 rebounds and 8 blocks; 20 points and 12 rebounds; 25 points and 8 rebounds, and last game against Arkansas-Fort Smith, he scored 13 points, had 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. I think it was just a matter of him getting over the injury and gaining some confidence.”

Although Coach Turk did not want to discuss which schools had offered Davis, he did state, “He’s being recruited by Creighton, Cincinnati, TCU, Tulsa, Ole Miss, Purdue, New Mexico and East Carolina. A number of schools are trying to figure out what position he will play for them. Right now he’s 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, but he will graduate in the spring and if he works hard during the summer, there is no reason he cannot be up to 240 pounds by the fall.”

Davis played his high school ball at Broken Arrow (OK) High School, where he averaged 11.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest as a senior. He was named Honorable Mention All-State, First-team All-Conference, First-team Tulsa World All-Metro and was selected to play in the Oklahoma-Texas Oil Bowl and the OCBA All-Star game.

As a freshman last season at NEO, Vernell averaged 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, shot 48-percent from the field and had a game high of 18 rebounds. Known primarily for his defense and rebounding, this bouncy athlete has the ability to play a couple of positions. “We’ve been using Vernell in the post primarily, but he can also play the power forward position,” explained Coach Turk. “His strength is his athleticism and although he can, at times, step out and hit the jumper, he does most of his work around the basket. He does have good strength, because last season he broke a backboard doing a dunk and the injury set him back. But he’s fully recovered from that and the nagging ankle injury suffered earlier this year.” As the season and playoffs wind down, Davis will begin taking some visits." - RivalsHoops.com