Brain Davis is entering his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Hampton University women’s basketball team after a three-year stint as a high school coach in Alabama. Davis is primarily in charge of guard development for the Lady Pirates.
As the Lady Pirates won their fifth straight MEAC regular-season title in 2014-15, and advanced to the second round of the WNIT, sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas was named MEAC Player of the Year – becoming the second Hampton player in three seasons to earn that honor.
Tate-DeFreitas led the MEAC and was 11th in the nation in scoring in 2014-15, and she was also a VaSID First Team All-State and Third Team All-ECAC selection.
In addition, junior guard Ryan Jordan was named Third Team All-MEAC.
Davis was a part of yet another championship effort in 2013-14, as the Lady Pirates again won 28 games and took their fifth straight MEAC Tournament title – an unprecedented feat in the history of the conference. Along the way, senior guard Nicole Hamilton was a First Team All-MEAC selection, and Tate-DeFreitas earned MEAC Rookie of the Year honors.
Tate-DeFreitas averaged 18.1 points per game in 2013-14, while Hamilton averaged 13.1 points and 4.7 assists per contest. Hamilton also led the team in steals (63) and blocked shots (73).
The Lady Pirates’ backcourt in 2012-13 featured junior Hamilton – who converted from shooting guard to point guard – and senior Olivia Allen, who played herself into the starting lineup as the season wore on. Hamilton was named First Team All-MEAC after ranking third in the MEAC with 5.3 assists per game.
Both Hamilton and Allen also averaged double figures in scoring last season.
Davis oversaw a senior backcourt in 2011-12 that included Jericka Jenkins and Choicetta McMillian, both of whom averaged more than 13 points a game, while Jenkins – a First Team All-MEAC selection – was fifth in the nation with just over seven assists a contest.
McMillian, who led the MEAC with 82 3-pointers, was named Second Team All-MEAC.
Davis also oversaw a talented backcourt in 2010-11, one that included First Team All-MEAC selection Jenkins – who led the team in scoring and finished the season second in the nation in assists per game (7.0). He also coached McMillian and Hamilton.
Under Davis’ coaching, the Lady Pirate guards had a successful 2009-10 season as the team went 20-12 and won the MEAC Tournament for the first time since 2004. Jenkins was second on the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game, and she went 65-for-207 (.314) from the 3-point line, while McMillian went 45-for-125 (.360) from distance to lead the Lady Pirates.
Sophomore Bernadette Fortune averaged 9.5 points per game, the third-highest team average, en route to earning Second Team All-MEAC honors.
From 2007-09, Davis was a basketball and football coach at Sparkman High School in Harvest, Ala. During his tenure, Sparkman recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons, and the football team made two playoff appearances – prior to Davis’ arrival, the football team only had three all-time playoff appearances.
Davis graduated from Tennessee Technological University in May 2007 with a degree in physical education. He played football at TTU, starting at defensive back his junior and senior years. Davis tallied 184 tackles, nine interceptions and two touchdowns on punt returns in his career. He also got his coaching start while at TTU, when he served as an assistant coach for three years for the 13-and-under AAU squad Huntsville Heat – which won 90 percent of its game during his tenure.
Davis is a native of Huntsville, Ala.
