Wake up. Practice. Repeat. The only life senior Jonathan Davis has ever known revolves around basketball. He would not want it any other way.

Davis has been playing basketball since first grade, and this year, he is leading the charge for the varsity basketball team. As an instantly recognizable 6’6 player, Davis has played as post his entire career. However, at the beginning of this season, he has transitioned into a dual threat all over the court.

“I don’t like to brag about my own statistics, but I feel like I’ve shot the ball well while also contributing down low as a post,” Davis said. “Last year, I posted up or set screens most of the time when other guys were rolling to the basket, but now I might be the guy with the ball coming off the screens or taking the pull up jumpers. So, I’ve worked on more of a stretch position as opposed to being a true post.”

Although Davis started playing 2-2 basketball with his three brothers at a young age, it was not until he reached junior high that he started to take basketball more seriously.

“It changed from being just a game to being serious because the coaches told us ‘if you don’t take it seriously by the time you get to high school, you’re not going to play’,” Davis said. “So, whenever I saw all those other really good players, it just motivated me to be better.”

Entering freshman year, Davis made the varsity team at Peaster High and was able to compete along with his older brothers, Josh and Caleb, both of whom were senior starters at the time.

“My freshman year was so cool getting to play with them,” Davis said. “That year, it was definitely the hardest year of basketball that I’ve ever had, so it made it the most memorable. I already had a bond with my brothers, but we were all really close together that year.”

As Davis enters his senior year, his younger brother, sophomore David Davis, is not only on varsity, but starts along side his older brother.

“When I played my freshman year I got to play with my older brothers,” Davis said. “So, I know what it feels like to play with an older brother, so I know he’s enjoying it. At the same time, I’m really enjoying having him on the team too. He’s not just on the team; he’s contributing a lot. Our whole lives we played pick up out in the driveway, so it’s really cool that now we get to play real UIL basketball together.”

Davis practices anywhere from 16-18 hours a week during the season, not counting games, and that work doesn’t stop during the offseason.

“If I don’t have after-school practice, like during the season, I still practice with my select team or just come up to the gym myself,” Davis said. “It stays pretty constant as far as practicing the whole year.”

His love for basketball does not mean that he has not had disappointing moments. In fact, his passion made the end of last year’s season all the more painful.

“In last year’s playoff game, I got called for four offensive fouls,” Davis said. “So, I was just sitting on the bench and that’s really hard when you’re used to contributing and helping the team. It would have been one thing if I had played, and we just got beat. But, it was really difficult to end the season that way when I really felt like we could have gone farther.”

To some, basketball may seem like just a sport, but to Jonathan, it’s something more intimate and meaningful.

“I love basketball because I’m passionate about it,” Davis said. “I think God has given me an ability to play something that I love, and I love glorifying God by doing something that I love. I don’t take it for granted because there are so many people out there that can’t play. I feel very fortunate that I can.”

For Davis, basketball is important but comes second to his faith and his family. It’s fitting that he credits his faith and who he is to his family and one person in particular: his dad.

“He’s taught us and led us, especially in our walk with Jesus,” Davis said. “Not just that though, also as men, as people, and as Christians.”

Basketball is what drives Jon, but he believes that everyone has their own passion, their own ‘basketball’, that they have to work for.

“Everybody needs to find something that gives them passion,” Davis said. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, then go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’ So I feel like that’s the most important thing about basketball. That’s what motivates me. That’s what gets me going.”