Dalen Davis admits he was like every young hotshot basketball prospect. He wanted the bright lights of high-major basketball. The recent Princeton commit dreamed of playing at Kansas.
“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t start thinking about going to an Ivy League school or placing that importance on education until recently,” Davis said. “My whole life I loved Kansas. I was like everyone in that I wanted to play at the highest level. Power Five, ESPN, biggest arenas, all of that. That was the goal.”
But it was the Ivy League school — and its interest in him — that began to change his perspective. It was Princeton that made him think differently.
“I started thinking about life and thinking more long term,” Davis said. “They showed and pointed out things to me that I didn’t even see in myself at the time.”
Davis visited the campus in June. He said he immediately felt a pull toward the Ivy League school. There was a “genuine feel” he received while there. His relationship with head coach Mitch Henderson grew. He began to break down the schedule Princeton played, the roster, the academics and the majors it had to offer.
He returned in September for a second visit.
“The vibe and environment still felt right,” Davis said. “And throughout it all, I always felt like Princeton valued me the most.”
The Ivy League is feasting on Chicago area talent.
The recent commitment of Davis to Princeton was the third top prospect in Illinois to commit to an Ivy League school, following New Trier’s Jake Fiegen to Cornell and Lyons’ Nik Polonowski to Penn.
Last year’s Class of 2022 also saw three of the state’s top players, Glenbard West’s Caden Pierce, Glenbrook South’s Cooper Noard and New Trier’s Jackson Munro, land in the Ivy League. Pierce, who won a state title with the Hilltoppers, is a freshman at Princeton, while Munro and Noard are at Dartmouth and Cornell, respectively.
Evanston’s Blake Peters, now a sophomore at Princeton, was a part of an Ivy League championship team a year ago.
Harvard has a pair of area products. Louis Lesmond of Notre Dame averaged 7.9 points a game as a freshman last season, while New Trier’s Sam Silverstein played 20 minutes a game for the Crimson.
Former Neuqua Valley star John Poulakidas is a sophomore at Yale. Perry Cowan of DePaul Prep was a key contributor at Brown and returns for his senior year.
The Ivy League has always dabbled in the Chicago area over the years, but it’s become a true hotbed of talent for current programs.
But of all the aforementioned Chicago area names, Davis is the only Chicago Public League product headed to the prestigious league. He understands the rarity of his story and the exclusive, small club he will be a part of when he steps on campus a year from now.
“I think being one of the rare Public League kids to go play in the Ivy League — and the fact that I’m a Black student-athlete who is going to Princeton — is incredible,” Davis said proudly. “I think it shifts the narrative of Chicago Public League kids, and the importance of education and being able to do both, play basketball and go to a place like Princeton. I hope in some way it encourages other kids to be better academically, to help push them as much in the classroom as it does on the court. I want to be the focal point of that shift and a motivation to the others in the city.”
Young coach Tyrone Slaughter has had his share of basketball players who have gone on to play at high-academic institutions in college. He, too, believes the more players that follow that path, the more doors will open for others.
“It speaks to the misnomer of Public League basketball and Whitney Young in particular,” Slaughter said of Davis’ commitment to Princeton.
But he also feels it goes both ways. While he hopes more players will take advantage of unique opportunities like Davis, he also wants those types of schools to actually recruit those players when there is an opportunity to do so.
“My hope is it will shed a light on Ivy League schools for other players and for them to look at those schools in a serious manner,” Slaughter said. “And I also think it’s a matter of getting schools of that nature to look at our players in that manner.”
Like almost all student-athletes who not only attend but decide to play at a prestigious academic university, Davis did his homework before making a decision. He had a lot to weigh.
“It was stressful at times,” Davis said. “It was a long process.”
There were schools with good academic reputations — and maybe a higher level of basketball — and then there was the Ivy League, a basketball conference with elite, world-renowned academics. In Princeton, Davis can reap the benefits of playing Division I basketball while obtaining a first-class education.
The aspirations Davis has beyond college and following his basketball career mattered. And the head start Ivy League graduates have following graduation stood out.
“That definitely mattered,” Davis said of the obvious advantages of an Ivy League degree. “Basketball stops at one point. You can’t play forever. I want to be prepared for life. Those four years at Princeton? That’s going to prepare me for life.
“And it’s just unbelievable the alumni base they have and the alumni I’ve already heard from since committing to Princeton. It really came down to making a mature decision for me.”
Slaughter recognized exactly that in his star point guard as he went through the recruiting process.
“He hasn’t become clouded by the allure of what is perceived to be the right college choice for a player of his magnitude,” Slaughter said. “When you look at him and his talents, I feel his talents are that of a high-major basketball player. But what more can one ask then to play at a place like Princeton with its academic reputation and great basketball history?”
