The men’s basketball team lost sophomore point guard Marlin Davis, early this season due to an injury in competition against Troy University.
Davis was a one-year veteran who started for the Bobcats before tearing his ACL. When Davis was on the court, the Bobcats had an 11-7 overall record and a 2-1 record in the Sun Belt Conference.
Davis played 16 games this season and had 73 points including his 28-of-70 shot from the field and 2-of-14 from beyond the arch. He had a career-high of 56 assists overall. Without the veteran point guard’s leadership and team chemistry, the Bobcats will have to step up to finish the season strong.
The Bobcats have a team full of young talent that need to learn the ropes quickly and step into the rotation. They have replaced Davis with another guard, junior Tre’Larenz Nottingham. Nottingham is a first-year transfer from Mt. San Jacinto College where he was named First Team All-CCCAA and All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference twice. He averaged 19.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game and led the CCCAA with 635 points, 242 made free-throws and 76 steals.
This season, Nottingham has displayed more drive to score than Davis with 140 points on the season, including shooting 42-of-125 from the field and 22-of-66 from the three-point range. The junior point guard has filled the role well after the fall of his teammate. He has been playing more minutes on the court and continues to build a strong bond with his more established teammates.
“When Marlin went down, I felt like we really came together more collectively and stronger,” Nottingham said.
Sophomore guard Nijal Pearson, senior forward Immanuel King and freshman guard Shelby Adams, have been forced to step up as well. King has received an additional two minutes per game since Davis has been out and is attempting more shots as well.
Pearson also has some added weight on his shoulders with more time on the court and adding more shot attempts to his stats. Adams is getting more involved in the rotation and seeing a fair share of time on the court. He has contributed well both offensively and defensively for Texas State.
As the season continues, so will the Bobcats. They have already pulled off a number of tough conference wins, even without Davis being an active member of the team.
Nottingham and the Bobcats are hoping to get back to the Sun Belt Conference Championship and take it even further this season.