By Gabby Giles | TCC Talon Staff
Classes. Court. Homework. Sleep. Repeat. Tallahassee Community College first-year basketball player Tajden Davis has a strict schedule that begins early in the morning and ends late at night. In between, it’s filled with workouts, classes, practice and homework.
Playing locally at Godby High School last year, Tajden Davis averaged 20.8 points per game and 7.8 rebounds, recording nine double-doubles on the season, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The performance earned him the publication’s 2022 Big Bend Basketball Player of the Year award.
Tajden Davis is now enrolled at TCC and makes sure that his academics are a top priority in his day-to-day schedule. He asks questions during class and makes mental notes of assignments’ deadlines.
Davis provides a simple answer for how he’s able to manage all that’s on his plate.
“You just gotta work hard,” Tajden Davis said. “I always got to stay focused on my schoolwork and basketball.”
Juggling athletics and academia is not new to the men in the Davis family. His father Rick Davis is a former high school and college basketball player who also won the Democrat’s Big Bend Basketball Player of the Year Award in 1990. Rick Davis is now Dean of Students at Godby High School. He has coached for over 20 years at several schools in Tallahassee including Chiles High School, FAMU Developmental Research School and Leon High School.
Because basketball and education have been a significant part of Rick Davis’s life, he prides himself on ensuring that his son understands the importance of performing well as a student and an athlete.
“I know firsthand what juggling sports and athletics can do,” Rick Davis said. “It’s a tough task.”
As tough as it is, Tajden Davis stays consistent in his routine and his support system keeps him going.
“My mom motivates me to do this,” he said. “Everything I do, I do for her and my family.”
As Tajden Davis prepares for the 2022-2023 basketball season, he has advice for student-athletes who maintain similar busy schedules.
“Just stay on top of your work and your responsibilities,” Davis said. “Once you start to lose focus everything starts to crash down around you.”
