By Joseph Staszewski
The thought of going to prep school didn’t sit well with C.J. Davis initially.
The former Archbishop Molloy star point guard was surprised when the men’s basketball staff at Columbia University asked him to do a post graduate year to better prepare him to be a student athlete at the Ivy League school. It’s because attending prep school in most situations usually means a student didn’t academically qualify.
That isn’t the case for Davis, but it still raised questions from those who followed his career when he wasn’t on the Lions’ roster.
“At first, I was really mad,” he said. “I really didn’t want to do to prep school. The general idea of it I wasn’t really fond of.”
Columbia helped him land at the Peddie School in New Jersey and Davis, who is a week into the season with the Falcons, is embracing the benefits of being there. It’s going to make him a better player and gave him an early taste of what college life will be like, he believes. His focus is school and basketball with limited distractions.
“I actually saw a difference between a prep school that is basketball-oriented and a good prep school that benefits you,” Davis said.
He plans on still heading to Columbia after the year is up, believing it’s still the best situation for him. Davis did briefly ponder the idea of trying to go to a different college to avoid prep school. Doing so in the late spring and early summer just didn’t make sense with most programs having their scholarships filled.
“I didn’t want to look at other colleges and then they don’t put me on their list because they have other recruits signing at the time,” he said.
Davis was an All-Queens first team selection by the TimesLedger Newspapers last season. He averaged 16 points per contest and was a triple-double threat each time he took to the floor. The immediate impact of the Peddie Schools is getting him in better shape physically. Mentally, Davis has recovered from the initial shock of his college detour.
He follows Columbia’s games closely and has already attended one in person. Davis tuned in to watch the Lions fall to top-ranked Kentucky 56-46 Dec. 10. He planned on being right there with them this season, but is making the most out of the opportunity in front of him.
“I think this will help me a lot, just living on your own, getting used to hard practices and working hard everyday,” Davis said. “It’s really helping me.”
