The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH she was one of the pioneers for women's basketball in the country, Linda Davis was surprised that she was honoured by the New Providence Women's Basketball Association.

Over the weekend, the NPWBA held its annual All-Girls High School Basketball Tournament in honour of Davis, now serving as the first provost of the University of the Bahamas.

"There are so many other persons that I can think about," said Davis, who tried to downplay the recognition. "There were so many greats from the late Edith Turnquest to Betty Cole to Mother Pratt to Winsome Davis, Charlene Smith, Jackie Conyers, Kim Rolle, it's long when you talk about the contributions persons like these have made.

"The list is long. I only did my small part, but it's an honour for them to have recognised me in such a manner. I can't say how much I appreciate all that they have done and what this means to me. It's tremendously flattering."

NPWBA president Devon Johnson said their committee selected Davis because of the contribution that she made for women's basketball in the country.

From a little girl playing with Cole on the Priory Grounds on concrete before she improved her game under the tutelage of the late Leviticus 'Uncle Lou' Adderley as a Big Red Machine at St Augustine's College.

Not willing to disclose her age, Davis went on to play for the women's national basketball team and for the College of St Benedict in Minnesota where she was a two-sport star in basketball and volleyball.

"As I said to the girls, what's more important for me as I got to travel the world playing basketball, it's the opportunity to really be exposed and to enhance some soft skills that take you through life," she stated.

"Skills like discipline and respect and team world, collegiality and really making a difference contributing to society and working as a team no matter where you go in life whether its on the court or off the court."

She's learnt a lot of lessons playing until the early 1990s before she ventured into the administrative level when she returned home to work with the then College of the Bahamas and she was reintroduced to basketball here when the Caribs played in the NPWBA.

Davis, who would have played on the Bahamas' first team to win the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships, said even though she's been away from the game for the past few years, she's stayed in touch with her role at UB.

But looking back at the heydays when she participated, Davis admitted that it won't be fair to compare the skills sets of then and now.

"I think the game has advanced so much that it's a much faster game than it used to be," she pointed out. "When I first started to play basketball, we were playing in halves and we didn't roam the entire court.

"That now seems like ancient days and now the height of women has really improved. I was always tall for my age, but we are seeing more girls playing who are close to 6-feet in junior high. So it seems as thought the talent they have now is natural."

Davis was quite impressed with the coordination of Rhema Collins, a 5-11 13-year-old ninth grader at St John's College. She was named the most valuable player for the Giants after they won the junior girls title with a 30-24 decision over the Jordan Prince Williams Falcons.

"We always felt that we were uncoordinated with the ball handling, but they are less fearful as we were," Davis pointed out. "The exposure that they have to US television and the WNBA, they can see models they want to emulate and they play a lot harder.

"Whether they have that balance is a good question, but I always say an athlete is not an athlete unless he or she has the academic grounding and they are not just playing basketball for basketball sake, but they make they can make a living beyond playing the sport."

While she was winding down her athletic career, the WNBA got started on April 24, 1996, but Davis said she was a little disappointed that it wasn't formed earlier like the NBA.

"Winsome Davis was the one that almost came close before Waltiea Rolle made the breakthrough (in 2014 out of North Carolina) and followed by Jonquel Jones (in 2016 via George Washington)," Davis said.

"Things happen in its time. So the part that persons like myself would have played was to set the foundation to make it better for those who came behind us. So it's good to Waltiea and Jonquel make it to the big stage."

On Jones' decision this year to play on national teams for Bosnia-Herzegovina, as opposed to the Bahamas, Davis said she understands the rational.

"People make decisions that they feel will be in their best interest at the time," she reflected. "I don't think we should stand in judgement of her at all.

"I think she decided to do that for reasons that she felt at the time were valid. I don't she has forgotten from whence she has come. Each of us make decisions in life that we feel would be in our best interest. I think she will find her way back. She will find her way back."

As for the NPWBA league, which is getting ready to start next month, Davis said she commend Johnson and his officers for the direction they are heading in.

"Sometimes the road will be rocky, but you have to keep pushing forward," she stressed. "Nothing comes easy. Women's basketball has had its ups and downs.

"The New Providence Women's Basketball Association, in breaking away from the men, was a good move. I think persons who are involved like Anthony Swaby, Mynez Sherman and Kimberly Rolle should be commended for where they got the league too."

At this level and the initiatives that they bring will determine what the Bahamas ultimately do at the international level. But Davis said she hope that they can tie in more with what they are doing at UB to enhance the national programme.

As Provost at UB, Davis is committed to ensuring that the students exit with skills that best prepare them to embrace the 21st century. She remains resolute that UB programmes and experiences must nurture and encourage innovative thinking and critical mind-sets, which result in graduates able to solve the most pressing challenges of today.

Davis is also committed to advancing, even more deliberately, toward a grounded research tradition to balance the institution's already strong teaching and service reputations.