Davis returns to River Lions
A key piece is returning to the Niagara River Lions for the 2023 Canadian Elite Basketball League season.
On Wednesday, the team announced it had signed 6-foot-9 American forward Antonio (AJ) Davis.
The 28-year-old native of Burford, Ga., recently competed his season with AS Apollon Patras of the Greek HEBA A1 League, where he averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Last season with the Niagara River Lions, Davis ranked second on the team in points (12.5) and rebounds per game (6.2), while averaging 2.5 assists. He shot 46.3 per cent from the floor.
“We’re thrilled that we are able to bring back AJ for his second season with the River Lions,” said Victor Raso, Niagara’s head coach and general manager. “AJ is a tremendous basketball player, leader, and most importantly a great person. Being able to continue to build towards a championship with him is something I’m very grateful for.”
Raso used Davis in a lot of different roles last season.
“As a four man, he’s got great size but he’s a lot more mobile that your typical four,” he said. “I used him for a bunch of different things. We had him attacking, especially in transition, we had him using ball screens and posting up.”
Raso described Davis as the River Lions’ most versatile player.
“He provides leadership qualities which is fantastic as well. I thought he should have been an all-star in our league last year and for us to have the continuity is great. He was one of our captains last year and to be able to bring him back still in the prime of his career is big for us.”
Davis joins Phil Scrubb as returning players signed with the club.
“I am excited to be back playing in Canada again this summer,” he said. “I appreciate the River Lions for the opportunity to play. We got a lot of love from the region and fans last season so I hope to see even more people come out to the Meridian Centre this year.”
The former scholarship player at the University of Tennessee and the University of Central Florida comes from a rich family background in basketball. He is the son of Antonio Davis, a former second-round pick of the Indiana Pacers, who went on to play 13 years in the NBA, including stints with Indiana, Toronto, Chicago and New York. He would later become president of the NBA Players Association and is presently an analyst with ESPN. AJ’s twin sister, Kaela, plays for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
At the collegiate level, Davis played at the University of Tennessee and the University of Central Florida. At UCF, he finished eighth in school history with 633 rebounds and seventh with 319 made free throws. He earned Second Team All-Conference honours from NBC Sports and was named to The American Weekly Honour Roll five times during his senior year.
His professional stops have included: KB Prishtina of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague; Brisbane Bullets of the NBL Australia; Delaware Blue Coats and Stockton Kings of the NBA G League; BC Lulea of the Swedish Basketligan; Charilaos Trikoupis Mesologiou in the Greek A2 Basket League; and, Nurnberg Falcons BC of the German Pro A League.
The River Lions will start their season May 26 at the Montreal Alliance followed by games May 30 against the expansion Calgary Surge and May 31 against the Edmonton Stingers. Niagara will open the home portion of its schedule Saturday, June 3 at 8 p.m. at the Meridian Centre against the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
Season tickets, voucher packs and group tickets are on sale now. Visit www.riverlions.ca/tickets for more information.
