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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Mountain Brook’s Ty Davis (3) shoots a layup guarded by Vestavia Hills’ Jackson Weaver (3) in a game at Spartan Arena on Dec. 5.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Ty Davis (3) is shown in the Class 6A state championship semifinals at Bartow Arena in March 2021. He helped the Spartans to a state championship as a freshman and is aiming to repeat that accomplishment this season in his final campaign.
Neither Ty Davis nor his dad, Tyler, has taken the time to sit back and reflect on the journey just yet.
That’s because there is still a chapter or two left to write, and they want to make the most of it.
Ty Davis, a Mountain Brook High School senior, is currently putting the finishing touches on a stellar high school basketball career. He has had the fortune of playing for his dad for the last four years at Mountain Brook, but there’s no time to stop and smell the roses. They both hope to help lead the Spartans to a Class 6A state championship in early March.
“Once we get into the [season] grind and it starts, I’m so focused on what the task at hand is that I haven’t had an opportunity [to reflect],” Tyler Davis said.
Ty Davis echoes a similar sentiment, saying he is “focused on winning the day” each day as he laces up his basketball shoes.
That focus will persist through season’s end, and there’s reason to believe Mountain Brook could be one of the final teams left standing. Mountain Brook last won a state title three years ago, which was the program’s sixth over a nine-year span. In the last two seasons, the Spartans were ousted by the eventual state champ and earned the state runner-up trophy last spring.
A part of it for many years
Tyler Davis has been a part of the Mountain Brook basketball dynasty from the beginning, serving as an assistant to Bucky McMillan for many years before taking over the program when McMillan went to Samford University.
The Davis family has photos from 11 years ago, when the Spartans won the first of their many state titles. Seen in some of them is a young Ty Davis, celebrating the players he looked up to, hoping to be in those same shoes one day.
Ty Davis fondly remembers the days of being a water boy for the basketball team, as well as helping the assistant coaches keep stats during games.
He burst onto the scene and helped Mountain Brook to the state championship as a freshman in 2021. He wasn’t the star on that team yet, with players like Rayven Turner and Bo Barber carrying the leadership mantle.
Ty Davis began to take on more responsibility as a sophomore, as he settled into being a team leader and has carried that on his shoulders ever since. Among his favorite memories are the state championship team and getting to play alongside guys like Julius Clark for three years.
He hopes to add a few more key memories before his time with the Spartans concludes.
Basketball runs in the family
Mountain Brook basketball has long been a family affair for the Davises, but it is even more so this year. Ty and freshman Trey are on the varsity boys team, while younger sister Avery — a seventh grader — is on the varsity girls team.
“It’s a blessing,” Tyler Davis said of being able to coach his sons. “The ribbing that goes on at home has been fun. When we’re in the process and grind, you’re not able to take a seat and see it, but there’s a lot of joy in it.”
As with any set of siblings, there are positive moments balanced with frustrating times for Ty and Trey. But Ty Davis has certainly enjoyed being able to pass to his younger brother for an open 3-pointer.
“I know that every time I kick it out to him, I think it’s going down,” Ty Davis said. “Being able to share those moments, it’s really fun.”
Tyler and Ashley Davis each played basketball in college, so they have been able to share their experiences with their children.
“It’s not a definite that your kids are going to enjoy the game, and that’s been a cool thing that we do,” Tyler Davis said. “I don’t want it to be a scenario where that’s our identity, but it’s something all five of us enjoy.”
Final push
Mountain Brook started off this season by winning its first seven games, two of them without Ty Davis in the lineup due to illness.
While not the perspective he desired, he said it was nice “seeing our guys really come together and grow.”
A tough portion of the schedule soon arrived, as the Spartans dropped a few games over November and December to stout teams. One of those losses was to Myers Park out of North Carolina, one of the top public school programs in the nation. Another was to Huntsville, a team that has been the best in 7A for much of the year.
As of press time, the Spartans were in the thick of area play, with their sights set on beginning a postseason run in February.
The Spartans’ senior class, which stands eight strong this season, wants to go out on a high note. Many of them have played together and known each other for the majority of their lives. Ty Davis has played with a few of them dating back to their kindergarten days.
“A lot of us have been together forever,” he said. “To watch them grow as a group to where they are now, it’s been really fun to watch.”
Tyler Davis has seen the development of this class as well, harkening back to their third grade days of learning the same press defense Mountain Brook’s high school team still employs today.
Ty Davis spent a couple years accumulating scholarship offers from colleges, but he narrowed his list to three schools last year. Over the summer, he took some official visits and eventually committed to Creighton University in June.
He will be joining a program that has advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons and has been a fixture in the top 25 this season as well.
“He played well enough and he is that caliber of player, and God opened the door to where he had three great options,” Tyler Davis said. “I feel that’s something he’s worked really hard for, and I’m thankful that’s something we can pass him onto.”
There have been a few moments when Tyler Davis has been forced to take a moment and think back on all the things his eldest son has accomplished so far. He admitted that fall signing day at Mountain Brook stopped him in his tracks. The list of his son’s accomplishments is quite long already: he’s been named to the all-state team twice, scored over 1,500 career points and is ranked as the No. 67 player in his class by Rivals.
But Ty Davis is hoping to add a few more team achievements to that list before he’s done at Mountain Brook.
“Max out at the end of the year,” he said of his goal.
