By David Elvir
Senior Sports Writer
Gus Davenport’s jersey was retired from Cannon County High School after leaving with record numbers.
Davenport, a 6-5 guard from Woodbury, Tenn., was recognized by his high school with his jersey retirement, a practice done once an important figure in their team leaves.
Davenport, or “Mr. Basketball” as recognized by the TSSAA, left as the all-time leading scorer in Cannon County history with 2,130 career points, making him the only player on the men’s team to surpass 2,000 career points.
Davenport broke the school’s career scoring record (1,719) on a night in which he bagged a single-game scoring record 52 points. In that game, he also had a single-quarter record 22 points.
As a senior, Davenport averaged 30.4 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals per game.
Going into high school, Davenport felt some pressure as he had gained a good reputation throughout middle school. He also had to fill in for big expectations as his dad was also part of all-time lists in Cannon County.
“Coming out of middle school a lot of people thought I was gonna be good, so I just didn’t want to let them down. I felt a little bit of pressure and had to adjust to that,” said Davenport. “My dad was kind of a legend there. Just trying to live up to his legacy was a big deal for me.”
Despite not playing much as a freshman, Davenport was not surprised by his success once it was all said and done.
“I started out as a freshman, young, and didn’t get to play much. Between my freshman and sophomore season, I decided to take it to another level. I expected to break records coming into high school,” said Davenport.
Jason Knowles, Davenport’s high school coach who he said had a great role in his success, was able to reap the fruits of his hard work once he started coaching him in his sophomore season.
“I knew right off, you know, he outworked everyone. He was the kid as a 15-year-old staying after practice and getting extra work so I kind of knew early on that I had a player on my hands that I was going to be able to rely on as long as I was there,” said Knowles.
Davenport tends to carry his hardworking reputation where he goes, as his current teammates also admire this from him.
“We were pretty surprised at how ambitious the guy is being a freshman. He is just a hard worker,” said Trevecca teammate, Jaden Smallwood.
Often described as ambitious, Davenport tends to aim as high as he can, something that surprised Knowles.
“[This was] one of the first conversations I had with him once I became his coach. He had the school scoring record, a number written on his shoe, and I asked him what that number was. He said ‘that’s the school’s scoring record, and I’m gonna break it,’ and man it was evident early on that he was gonna break it,” said Knowles.
His ambition has carried on to Trevecca where he thinks he can soon win a championship. Davenport also said he hopes they can even turn around the team’s current uneasy season.
