“It’s my senior year next season, and I don’t want to move anymore. I just want to go somewhere that I can feel at home, be myself and be comfortable.”
The 6-foot-3 athletic wing feels he’s finally found that at Wright State, and he’s the second coveted player to commit to the Raiders from the transfer portal in the last two weeks
They also landed Evansville forward Blake Sisley, a Missouri Valley Conference all-freshman team pick last season. The duo lessens the blow of losing their top two scorers in Tanner Holden and Grant Basile.
Davis averaged 15.9 points as a freshman at Green Bay and was the top vote-getter on the 2020 Horizon League all-freshman team. He also was a third-team all-league pick, and he earned second-team honors after averaging 17.2 points as a sophomore.
He transferred to Missouri last season and averaged 9.0 points, shooting 42.5% from the field while playing the fourth-most minutes.
“I’m really excited. I get to come back to my backyard and play in front of my family and friends,” Davis said.
“I’ve played (at the Nutter Center) before, and I got a little taste of what I had missed. Having their fans — and my family and friends — will be a big boost for our team, not just me. I’m just excited to get home and get to work.”
Wright State coach Scott Nagy said he couldn’t comment on Davis because the player hadn’t officially signed yet, but he’s talked about him in the past and has been an admirer of his game.
Davis tended to get amped up for the Raiders and once scored 35 points on 14-of-21 shooting at the Nutter Center.
Though he averaged 24 points for the Rams and led them to a state title, Nagy and his staff made Holden a higher priority at the wing position in that class.
But Davis’ father, Lamar, said: “That’s water under the bridge. We’re blessed. And we thank coach Nagy for coming for us again.
“God had Amari’s path. It was kind of rough for a while, but God showed him the way back home. The whole family, the whole city, is ecstatic right now.”
After being able to make only one Missouri home game last season and few at Green Bay because of the distance, Lamar said: “We can get to all his home games and most of his road games. We’ll be ‘geared up’ and have the car gassed up. We’re rolling.”
Davis prefers the fast-paced style he thrived in at T-M and found it his first year with the Phoenix. They went 17-16 and averaged 81.6 points.
But coach Linc Darner was fired, and GB went 8-17 under new coach Will Ryan, averaging 71.6 points.
Missouri went 12-21 in Davis’ lone season there and was last in the SEC in scoring at 65.5 points per game. Coach Cuonzo Martin was fired after the season.
“They’re a little more up-tempo,” Davis said of the Raiders. “There’s a lot of guys over there that know how to play basketball — play together, shoot the ball, pass. Coach (Nagy) said if I come in, I’m going to score. As long as I come in and do what I have to do, it’ll make me and the team better.”
Davis has a friend in the program in point guard Trey Calvin, and the two have already talked about rooming together.
And he’s also enthused about playing for a winner again. The Raiders reached the NCAA tourney last season and have won at least 20 games every year under Nagy except for the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
“That played a big part in my decision,” Davis said. “All throughout my life, I’ve been talking about how I’ve wanted to play in the tournament, be part of March Madness and play on the big stage.
“With the success Wright State has had, I can come in with the guys they have there now, and we can do something special and get back there again.”
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