Brian Davis (basketball)

infobox NBA Player
name = Brian Davis


position = Small forward
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 7
weight_lbs = 200
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1970|6|21
birth_place = Atlantic City, New Jersey
college = Duke
draft = 48th overall
draft_year = 1992
draft_team = Phoenix Suns
career_start = 1992
career_end = 1994
former_teams = Minnesota Timberwolves (1993–94)
awards = 1st Team All-ACC Tournament 1992
1995 USA Men's Pan American Games Team

Brian Keith Davis (born June 21 1970, in Atlantic City, New Jersey) is an American former college and professional basketball player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 2nd round (48th overall) of the 1992 NBA Draft. A 6'7" guard-forward, Davis played football and basketball at Bladensburg High School, and was a member of the Duke Blue Devils' 1991 and 1992 back-to-back national championship basketball teams. Davis played in the French league with Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez during the 1992-1993 season alongside seven-foot-seven Gheorghe Muresan, and then returned to the NBA for the 1993-94 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he averaged 5.5 minutes and 1.9 points per game. Davis played in 68 NBA games, scoring a total of 131 points.

Business and philanthropy

Davis co-owns the community development company Blue Devil Ventures (BDV) with former Duke teammate Christian Laettner and Duke alumnus Tom Niemann. Since 1995, BDV has been developing a community in downtown Durham, North Carolina named "West Village." BDV's website describes West Village as a "mixed-use, upscale community consisting of the adaptive-reuse of historic tobacco warehouses built between 1899 and 1926 and located in the Brightleaf District." [http://www.bluedevilventures.com/westvillage.html]

In 2005, Davis and Laettner donated $2 million to Duke's men's basketball program to endow an athletic scholarship and support the construction of a planned athletics center and basketball practice facility. [ [http://dukenews.duke.edu/2005/07/laettnerdavis.html Laettner, Davis Give $2 Million to Legacy Fund, New Athletic Facility ] ] Their donation to the [http://www.irondukes.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5100&ATCLID=178272&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=5100&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT= Duke Legacy Fund] — which seeks to make the Duke basketball program financially self-sufficient — represents the largest donation by former Duke basketball players to the program since Grant Hill endowed a $1 million scholarship in 2000.

In October 2006, it was reported in "The Commercial Appeal" that an investment group including Davis and former Blue Devils and Timberwolves teammate Christian Laettner had reached an agreement to purchase the 70% share of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies franchise from current majority owner, Michael Heisley. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2610380 ESPN - Group including Laettner, Davis agrees to buy Grizz - NBA ] ] However, the deal fell through when Davis's group failed to meet the deadline. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2732342 Davis-led group misses deadline to buy control of Grizz] ] Davis and Laettner are also involved in a group negotiating to operate Major League Soccer's D.C. United. [ [http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_5051540,00.html Davis remains a team player : Grizzlies : Commercial Appeal ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/dukemag/issues/030402/depspt3.html 2002 article on Brian Davis] @ Duke Magazine
* [http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=DAVISBR02 College & NBA stats] @ basketballreference.com
* [http://www.sportsstats.com/duke/player/players/bdavis.html College stats] @ sportsstats.com