Motlow State women’s basketball coach Kareem Kenney had his recruiting sights set on a couple of other players in the area, but Alicia Davis kept on appearing on the floor at the games he watched and making an impact.
Kenney began recruiting the Hopkinsville point guard and now hopes she makes that same impact at the Tennessee school.
Davis signed her letter to attend Motlow State to continue her basketball career on Wednesday in front of friends, family, and current and former coaches on the same gym floor where she excelled for two seasons at Hoptown.
“She is an excellent and phenomenal young lady off the court, and it’s one of the things that attracted her to our staff,” Kenney said. “Once we got a chance to look at her film a lot closer, we were able to see that she had a very high basketball IQ. She is a very, very skilled passer. Not only that, but just a great leader, and that’s exactly the qualities that we need to continue to establish our foundation and model in the state.”
Kenney also used the chance to offer some advice to the student-athletes in attendance.
“That’s just a testament to players here that you never know who’s watching you.”
Davis led the Lady Tigers in scoring at 13.7 points per game while shooting 45% from the field and 31% from the 3-point line.
For her career, Davis scored 1,585 points, highlighted by a sophomore campaign that saw her score 19 points a game at University Heights Academy. She transferred to Hopkinsville when UHA announced after that season they would not field a team in 2023-24.
Davis, who scored 584 points in two seasons at Hopkinsville, achieved All-District and All-Region honors during her time at both schools.
“She was the perfect athlete for our program and led us to the region tournament,” Hopkinsville coach Keith Leslie said. “I’m proud for her to have this moment to be one of the leaders if you plan on the next level. That’s one of the things that we coach, and I’m just proud of her. I’m ready for her to go to the next level. There’s no doubt in my mind you are ready to go.”
While Davis excelled on the court, Hopkinsville Athletic Director Jacob Ezell pointed out she’s more than just a basketball player.
“Alicia has a 3.86 GPA, and she is the prototypical student. I know that’s a cliche, but for her, student does come first. She’s a co-op student, she works at Chick-fil-A, she manages her money well, she’s an athlete, she’s in track now, and she’ll always be a Tiger here. We’d like to see her go on to do great things, and we’re excited for her,” he said.
Motlow State has multiple locations in Middle Tennessee and competes in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association as part of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
