LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON – Deyonta Davis, Muskegon High School’s star 6-10 center, has been named the Gatorade State Boys Basketball Player of the Year for Michigan.
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The award was announced in Friday’s weekend edition of USA Today.

Davis, who is also a finalist for Michigan’s Mr. Basketball award, helped lead Muskegon to a 28-0 record and the Class A state championship as a junior.

This season he has averaged 18.6 points and 15.3 rebounds, helping the Big Reds to a 23-1 record and a berth in Tuesday’s Class A state quarterfinals at Lansing Eastern High School against Lansing Everett (23-2).

Lansing Everett’s Trevor Manuel is  also one of three finalists for the Mr. Basketball award.

Muskegon Coach Keith Guy said the award didn’t surprise him.

“They called us Thursday,” Guy said. “Davis definitely has been the No. 1 player in the state all year.”

Shot blocking has been a major strength for Davis. He averaged 7.1 blocks per game last season and has averaged 6.7 blocks through the team’s first 24 games this season. He has 360 blocks in the two seasons, with 161 coming this winter.

For the season, Davis is averaging 57 percent on field goal attempts and 67 percent on free throws. He also has 31 assists and 20 steals.

He has signed a national letter-of-intent to play for Michigan State University in college.