Johnny Davis finishes what he started at UD

Flyer basketball great Johnny Davis sat at home leafing through his University of Dayton Magazine. 

His wife, Lezli, asked, “Why are you looking at the alumni magazine from UD?” Johnny replied, “I attended UD, that’s why.”

Her response: “You’re not an alumni, so why are you looking at it?”

(Editor’s note: For the record, we welcome all readers, alumni or not. But what a perfect line, Lezli. Brava.)

Davis, who came to UD in 1973, left in 1976 to join the NBA. In the next 10 years, he’d play for four professional teams, including a rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers that ended in an NBA championship. An NBA assistant or head coach from 1990 to 2019, Davis holds degrees from Georgia State University and Union College, but not the University of Dayton. 

Davis decided his wife was right.

After that conversation with Lezli, Davis called Doug Hauschild ’81, longtime UD sports information director, to ask how he could complete his Dayton degree. Hauschild connected him with the right people, and Davis started taking classes again. On Dec. 13, he walked across the UD Arena floor — not in a jersey and hightops but a cap and gown — to shake the hands of the president and provost, another Forever Flyer. 

Davis shared that story with Alex Mikos and Brooks Hall ’03 during the Dec. 13 broadcast of the Flyers men’s basketball game against North Florida. 

“I do need to be an alumnus, because that’s where I’m from, that’s where my heart is, that’s where I want to be from,” he told them. 

And the next time his University of Dayton Magazine arrives in the mail, Lezli will be able to nod her head in approval, knowing her husband’s heart is in his hands. 

Listen to Davis’ interview below.