Incoming freshman Molly Davis may develop into next great CMU point guard
With less than a second remaining and down one point to Michigan State in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament, sophomore guard Micaela Kelly had to force an awkward, double-clutched shot from just inside the 3-point line. The ball hung in the air, and the crowd watched it descend with bated breath.
The ball glanced harmlessly off the back iron.
The sound of the final horn resonated in Notre Dame’s Joyce Center, marking the end of the 2018-19 Central Michigan women’s basketball season.
As the Chippewas walked off the court following their 88-87 loss to the Spartans, they understood that it was the last game senior stars Reyna Frost and Presley Hudson would play in the maroon and gold.
Losing such tremendous talent and experience is the sobering reality that besets the program going forward.
In particular, Hudson started all 133 of the games in which she played at the collegiate level. Along the way, she shattered record after record at CMU: most career points scored (2309), most career assists (643) and most career 3-pointers (407), to name but a few.
Hudson averaged 20.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists over the course of her senior campaign. She was named to the All-MAC First team for the third straight season.
In her final outing as a Chippewa, the 5-foot-6 point guard scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and delivered a potential dagger from beyond the arc to put CMU up a point with 20.3 seconds to play.
However, that lead didn’t stand, and CMU’s most prolific scorer of all time saw her collegiate career draw to a close.
Without Hudson at the helm of the program, head coach Sue Guevara is in search of the next great Chippewa point guard.
As Hudson’s final game unfolded in the Joyce Center, a prime candidate to succeed Hudson sat a few rows behind the backboard, taking in the action from a spectator’s perspective.
Watching Presley
Section 4, Row 14, Seat 13.
Molly Davis looked out from her vantage point in the stands, cheering CMU on as it went to battle against the Spartans. She had made the trip down to South Bend to support her future teammates in their opening game at the Big Dance.
Despite the outcome, Davis said it was great to be able to watch the Chippewas play on a national stage in March.
If CMU wishes to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in future seasons, Davis’ ability to transition from spectator to collegiate player will likely be a critical piece of the team’s push for the postseason.
Currently a senior at H.H. Dow High in Midland, Mich., Davis is fresh off a high school career in which she scored 1,278 points, earned four All-Saginaw Valley League First Team selections and compiled an impressive 80-15 record as a varsity player.
Davis averaged 17.8 points on 62.1 percent shooting and knocked down shots from beyond the arc at a 43.1 percent clip in her final high school season. Davis also added five rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.6 steals per game for the year on the way to the SVL co-MVP award.
The 5-foot-6 point guard piloted Midland Dow to a 23-2 record in the 2018-19 season, falling in the regional final to the eventual MHSAA Division 1 state champions.
Finding Davis
Before establishing herself as one of the top high school players in the state, Davis was recognized early on by Guevara.
“She was 14 years old, but you could see her ability to handle the ball, create for other people, score and she’s got a little bit of swag about her,” Guevara said.
According to Davis, CMU started watching her play as early as eighth grade. During her freshman year at Midland Dow, Davis’ recruitment by the Chippewas officially began.
Even prior to CMU showing interest in her, Davis had her eyes on the program.
“I’ve always known about CMU and known they have a very good winning atmosphere,” Davis said. “I knew even before being recruited that it was a place I wanted to go.”
After the Chippewas extended a scholarship offer to Davis, she visited the campus on several occasions to get a feel for the environment and ensure that CMU was a place she could thrive. Davis was satisfied with what she saw, and as a sophomore she verbally committed to the Chippewas.
“Every time I went to visit, I knew I was going to have a good time, and the coaches made me feel so welcome,” Davis said. “I knew it’d be a good fit for me.”
Davis caught Guevara’s eye not only because of her skills as a basketball player, but also due to the intensity and grit displayed by the young guard.
As an underclassman in high school, Davis’ opponents frequently attempted to throw her off her game with excessive physicality. Instead of folding, Davis welcomed the bumps and shoves.
“When she’d get beat up, she’d get an attitude,” Guevara said. “It’s like, no. You have to beat back. She started to be more physical and lift, so she’s a tough bugger.”
This trait should translate nicely to the collegiate level, where most new players are unaccustomed to the amount of contact that occurs during every possession.
Guevara points to Hudson as an example of someone who regularly takes a beating from opposing teams.
“Look at Pres, she gets hit a lot,” Guevara said. “They aren’t going to be nice.”
Due to the fact that both Hudson and Davis are high-scoring point guards that see the floor well and command respect from opposing defenses, there has been speculation that the incoming Davis will be “the next Presley Hudson."
Guevara agrees that an abundance of similarities exist between the two point guards, but she’s quick to point out that Davis has a long way to go before reaching the pedigree of the record-breaking Hudson.
“There’s a whole lot of comparison, but Pres wears a whole different size shoe than Molly,” Guevara said.
Davis agrees with Guevara that she’s not yet worthy of being placed on the same level as the four-time All-MAC selection.
In fact, she sees Hudson as a role model.
“I really look up to Presley, and I try to do things that she does when I’m playing,” Davis said.
Hudson’s extraordinary work ethic is well-known to fans of CMU women's basketball, and it’s arguably the trait most pivotal to her success in a Chippewa uniform.
The same characteristic can be seen in Davis, who regularly arrives to her high school gym long before the school day starts in order to get shots up and refine her craft.
“She has a tremendous drive and competitiveness to her,” Guevara said. “She understands that she constantly needs to be improving her game – just like Hudson.”
Davis relishes the opportunity to pour all her energy into CMU’s program and is expectant that Guevara, whom she considers to be “one of the best coaches ever," will help her with the mental side of the game.
“I’m excited to learn a lot, and I think there’s a lot I need to learn,” Davis said. “I’m looking forward to coming into offseason workouts and practices to compete, not only getting myself better but my teammates as well.”
This season, Davis watched from the stands as Hudson ended an illustrous career that places her amongst the all-time greats to play at CMU.
Down the road, it may well be Davis asserting herself as the next great CMU point guard as fans watch her dissect defenses and guide CMU to yet another NCAA Tournament berth.
Guevara, for one, is confident that Davis has the ability to pick up where Hudson left off.
“When people watch her play, they will be like, ‘Oh, yeah. We’ve seen that kind of stuff before.’”
