Ronald Glen Davis was born in Baton Rouge on Jan. 1, 1986 to Donald Robertson and Tonya Davis. He got the nickname big baby when he was playing in peewee leagues. Because he was bigger than the other kids his age, he was playing with older kids and would whine at times and they would call him a big baby and the name stuck.
Big Baby has a way of seeing the bright side of everything in life. He went to live with a friend when he was 11 years old because his mother had been jailed. He bounced around foster homes and lived with friends and family as his mother battled drugs and was in and out of jail. Instead of seeing this as a negative, he chose to see his mother's strengths as she has fought drug addiction.
He concentrated on basketball his senior season at University High school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana although he also had a stellar career at University High at tailback of the football team as well as tossing the shot for the U-High track team. He earned Parade and McDonald's All-America honors and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Louisiana, the Athlete of the Year as chosen by the Baton Rouge Advocate, and was named Mr. Basketball by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. He was a top 100 football recruit when he came out of high school. Florida State and Tennessee, among others, wanted him for their football programs.
However, he chose to attend LSU and play basketball. As a freshman, he averaged 13.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocked shots and was named SEC Freshman of the Year by the league coaches. In his sophomore season, he led the SEC in scoring with 18.6 ppg and rebounding with 9.7 rpg He was only the fifth player in league history and the first since Shaquille O’Neal in 1991 to accomplish that feat. In his junior season he led the SEC in rebounding with 10.4 rpg and ranked third in scoring at 17.7 ppg. He Earned Second Team All-America honors from The Sporting News and Third Team honors from The Associated Press as a sophomore. He was also named SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore and earned First Team All-Conference honors his sophomore and junior seasons. He finished his collegiate career as LSU’s 10th all-time leading scorer with 1,587 points and he also ranks sixth all-time in rebounding with 916 and third in blocked shots with 110.
Big Baby left LSU after his Junior season for the NBA draft. In spite of promises from a couple of teams that they would take him in the first round, he slipped to the 35th pick in the second round where he was taken by the Seattle Supersonics and then traded to the Celtics as part of the deal that brought Ray Allen to Boston.
Big Baby Glen reported to campus at 358 and he played at 338 but he has hired a nutritionist and has completely changed his diet, eating more chicken than hamburgers and eliminating junk food from his diet. At last check he was down to 280 and working out hard to remake his body to be ready for the rigors of an NBA season. He came into summer league at his lowest weight ever and averaged 12 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 27 minutes per game.
Draft.net lists his strengths as:
Charismatic personality, similar to Shaq ... Excellent feel for the game ... His physical strength is virtually unparalleled for a player his height ... Has the ability to physically overpower players, but also has the skills and finesse of a smaller player ... Has tremendous body control, very soft hands and surprisingly quick feet, which could be attributed to his days on the gridiron ... He sets up strong on the block and establishes position immediately and can seal off players with a simple use of his off arm. Opponents can’t get in front of him ... Excels at squaring up from 12 feet and taking bigger players off the dribble ... Really understands how to use his body to create shots against bigger and more athletic players ... Does a good job of passing when doubled, seeing teammates on the wing ... He’ll surprise you with some of the things he can do both as a post player but also in the open floor ... Davis will step out of the paint and knock dow perimeter shots, has range out to 18 feet ... His mechanics are solid and has good form and knows when to pull up ... A complete team player and is very coachable as well as being a leader in the locker room ... Strong personality. Very poised in interviews and has a good demeanor about him ... Could guard some centers on the next level due to his strength ... Has great touch around the basket, especially with contact ...
One of Big Baby's strenghts is is character and his leadership. A story from John Brady, Davis' coach at LSU, will give you an idea of the type of person he is and the type of character he brings to the team.
And when he started talking about Hurricane Katrina and his gym, The Maravich Center, being used as a crisis center for the severely injured in the hours after the hurricane, he was deadly serious. “Seven or eight of our players volunteered to help, and it was a sobering experience,” he said. “The residue of that has made us a closer team. I’ve never had a team as close as this one.” And just like on the court, the center of attention that night was SEC Freshman of the Year, Glen Davis. Davis was one of the first to arrive and the last to leave. When asked about it, he just shrugged his shoulders and said : “It is what we are supposed to do for each other.” Brady had already revealed that one of the things Davis was called on to do that night was act as a human bracket. “They had blood hanging off both arms while they were doing transfusions,” Brady said. “Blood, plasma whatever they needed, Glen was there, his arms extended for long, long minutes. “ He never complained. Not once. They finally had to make him leave. “ It is that type of character that makes him a leader, and he likes to be the leader.” Davis said : “That was an experience that will stay with me for life. It changed me in ways. I wake up every day appreciative of the life I have.”
Big Baby will vie with Leon Powe for minutes off the bench at the power forward position. He will bring a great sense of humor to the locker room to help keep things loose and he will be a leader on and off the court. One thing is for sure, with his sense of humor and his love of life along with his all out playing style, he will make things a lot more interesting both on and off the court.
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