By Mike Lehman , TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech men's basketball assistant coach Frank Davis was one of 30 assistant coaches nationally recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Sunday evening, earning a spot on the 2016 Under Armour 30-under-30 Team.
The announcement came during the annual NABC Convention at the Cullen Theater at Wortham Center in Houston and was held in conjunction with the 2016 NCAA Men's Final Four.
"It's definitely a great honor and something that I'm proud of," Davis said. "It's an honor to be a member of the NABC and to be recognized by them is a humbling experience. I'm in a lucky situation here at Tennessee Tech in that I have so many great people around me who are supportive and make my job that much more enjoyable."
Davis recently completed his fourth year as a member of the Golden Eagle coaching staff and third as an assistant coach. He served one year as the program's director of basketball operations before earning a promotion to assistant.
"Anytime one of our guys gets an award, it's obviously well deserved," head coach Steve Payne said. "Frank works extremely hard and has been a Tennessee Tech guy for a long time, first as a player and now as a coach, and he's done a lot for our program."
A tireless worker and savvy recruiter, Davis has played an integral role in selling the Tech basketball program to potential student-athletes, helping land several current members of the Golden Eagle squad, including sophomore Aleksa Jugovic. The sophomore finished third on the team in scoring in 2015-16, ranking fifth in the league in 3-point shooting (first in OVC play) and third in free throw percentage.
"For a young guy, he's a very conscientious and hard-working individual that crosses every T and dots every I," Payne continued. "He's the same as a coach as he was as a player. He's just going to go outwork guys and any recognition he receives is more-than deserved. We're very happy to have Frank on our staff and we're excited that he has received some recognition for all that he does."
The Golden Eagles soared to a 19-12 overall record and 11-5 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play in 2015-16, returning to the postseason for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign with a bid in the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament.
A four-year member of the Golden Eagle squad, Davis finished out his career at Tech at the top of the all-time 3-point shooting list, having netted 251 buckets from downtown during his 2006-2010 career. He logged two seasons with a 3-point shooting accuracy over 40 percent (42.9 percent in 2008-09 and 44.4 percent in 2009-10) and is No. 2 on the Golden Eagle list of career games played with 125.
A standout in the classroom as well, Davis was named four times to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll while earning a spot in Tech's 1,000-point club with 1,118 career points. Davis began his transition from player to coach at Piedmont College during the 2010-11 season, before taking a graduate assistant coaching position at Lee University during 2011-12 campaign.
Among the other members of the 30-under-30 Team are Greg Paulus of Ohio State, Jon Scheyer of Duke, Jordan Mincy of Florida and Chester Frazier of Kansas State.
The Full NABC release can be found here.
Photo by Jim Dillon
