Antonio O. Davis begins his first year with the Barton women'sbasketball program after being hired in the fall of 2012.
Davis has more than 20 years of coaching experience and comes toWilson after spending three years as associate head coach at NCAADivision I North Carolina Central University. He is adisciplinarian and a master tactician as is known for his emphasison defense and player development.
Prior to NCCU, Davis spent two seasons as assistant coach atSouth Carolina State University and six years as head women'sbasketball coach at Saint Augustine's College.
Davis took a short break from coaching before heading to SaintAugustine's. Davis was a teacher and athletic director at NorthRowan Middle School from 2000-01. Before becoming an educator,Davis was an assistant to the athletic director at Kentucky Statefrom 1998-99.
Before becoming an athletic director and teacher at North Rowan,Davis had successful careers as head coach at Kentucky State from1993-98 and Livingstone College from 1988-91. During his tenure atKentucky State, the Thorobrettes became one of the best teams inthe country, earning their first NCAA Tournament appearance,claiming consecutive 20-win seasons and earning a nationalranking.
The Thorobrettes claimed a tournament championship, grabbedthree-straight division titles and won a season-best 26 games underthe direction of Davis. He became the first coach in SouthernIntercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) history to winconference championships in both basketball andvolleyball.
In between his successful campaigns at Kentucky State andLivingstone, Davis served as an assistant coach for the men'sbasketball team at Livingstone for the 1992-93 season. He alsoserved as the head coach of the women's team at Morristown Collegein Tennessee from 1987-88.
Davis made a name for himself on the hardwood at LivingstoneCollege, where he became one of the best players in CIAA history.Davis, an outstanding shooting guard, averaged 35 points per game,which ranked him first in the nation in scoring. He also led thenation in free throw shooting twice during his collegiate career.In 1982, he was selected to the All-CIAA team and receivedAll-American honorst that same year.
Shooting 94 percent from the stripe during his career with the BlueBears, he earned one of the highest percentages in collegebasketball history. He is Livingstone's leading scorer, havingscored more than 1,800 points in his career.
His outstanding performance on the basketball court during the1980s earned him a spot in the Livingstone College Athletic Hall ofFame. He was inducted in the summer of 2005.
Davis earned a bachelor of arts degree in history in 1987 and laterwent on to North Carolina A&T State University, where he earneda master of science degree in history in 1991.
He is married to Nichelle B. Davis.
