CCA's Davis becomes force in SWCAC
CHESWICK: Those close to Cheswick Christian Academy basketball know all about "the heater".
The bulky, warmed-to-please appliance once loomed high above the school's tiny gymnasium, its shadow cast over the painted lines of the wooden court below.
It was untouchable, literally, not because it was hot. It was 13 feet off the floor.
Games of touch-it-if-you-can were all for naught, as even the players who could dunk failed to even nip the elusive furnace — even with running starts.
Then came Breyon Chambers.
"You would not conceive it possible that a human being could jump up and touch that heater," said Cheswick Christian boys coach Todd Rosio. "Breyon Chambers jumped up and grabbed it with both hands."
Chambers, who put Chargers basketball back on the map in 1997, is long gone, and so is the heater. But the next Breyon Chambers apparently has emerged at Cheswick Christian. And, even though he cups at air when he leaps to where the heater once dropped down, junior forward Nate Davis has brought similar excitement to the Chargers lineup.
"I never really tried to grab it," Davis said. "I had a teacher who sort of egged me on, but I guess I'll never know. I wish I would have tried. It was pretty high. It would have been like touching the top of the square on a (basketball) hoop, I guess."
Davis's numbers tell the story. He averages double figures in points (20) and rebounds (10), and leads the team in blocks with four per game. He has more than 800 career points.
The throw-back gym rat has played all five positions since his freshman year, and excelled at all five.
"Nate has a knack for scoring," Rosio said. "I have had my eye on him since the sixth or seventh grade. I don't know how to explain 'it', but he has 'it.'"
Not since Chambers has a player dominated the minuscule Southwest Christian Athletic Conference. Davis, 6-foot-5 do-it-all junior forward, is posting double-doubles on a nightly basis and keeping the Chargers on pace for another conference championship.
The team finished the regular season undefeated and won the conference crown last season. Davis was a role-playing forward then, playing alongside his older brother, Ben.
Ben Davis moved on to Geneva College, where he eventually might walk on to the basketball team.
But Nate Davis, 16, is back and his role has changed completely this season. He is the first option on offense, as an inside-outside threat, and on defense, as an aggressive shot-blocker.
"I don't know how much I expected from myself this year," Davis said. "I guess I figured I would get the ball more as a senior. But things have been great. I love being the leader and the main guy. To see your name in the paper and to help get your school on the board, that's pretty sweet."
As a thin, home-schooled elementary student, Davis knew basketball was his game.
"I picked up a basketball when I was like six," he said. "Of course, I used to dunk on my Fisher-Price hoop."
Success in the local YMCA youth program and the Goose Pryor summer league eventually brought Davis to a crossroads when he hit ninth grade. Where would the New Kensington resident go to high school?
"I thought about going to Valley, but I wanted to play with my brother at Cheswick," he said.
Seeing Chambers play for the Chargers also helped. Davis looked up to Chambers and admired his talent.
Chambers turned heads at a slam dunk contest during the annual Cager Classic all-star festivities. He leaped, spun and dazzled fans.
The SWCAC MVP was slam dunk king.
Davis has similar flare when he gets a break-away jam.
"He has a nice combination," Rosio said. "He sort of plays everywhere for us."
Davis' father also saw things in Nate. Bob Davis, a former youth coach, had an idea his second son would be one to watch.
"For one thing, he had a big growth spurt in eighth grade," Bob Davis said. "And he had a real desire for the game. He really wanted to pursue it."
The caring father showed empathy by donating a square of his backyard.
"Before long, I was putting a cement slab in the back yard with a pole and hoop in it," Bob said.
This season and next will play a major role in Nate's possible college career.
A few scouts have shown mild interest this season, including Division II Pitt-Johnstown.
"When I heard that, my eyes lit up," Davis said. "I knew there were scouts in the stands. Whether they were there to see me or not, I had a half-decent game that day.
"I hope to play at the next level, but we'll have to see what happens. Whatever God's will, if it's meant to be, it will happen."
Although Cheswick Christian, which graduates an average of 15 seniors, is one of the smallest high schools in Western Pennsylvania, Davis thinks Cheswick could compete in the WPIAL.
He also thinks his game could match up.
"I think it is fair to say I could start in double-A, and if not in triple-A, I could contribute," he said.
Davis believes the Chargers can repeat as SWCAC champions. They will not do it undefeated, however, since they had a 19-game conference winning streak snapped last Saturday at Beaver County Christian.
But Davis can do without the frills.
"We have a very good chance," he said. "This is a team with a lot of potential. We're inexperienced in some ways, but a lot of guys have caught on. It's hard to compare this year's team to last year's, that will be hard to match.
"We won't be undefeated, that was one of our goals. But we'll be OK."
Pressure⢠Davis feels none.
Even though the heat is always on him. And not just from above the court.
