A native of Rutledge, Tennessee, A. W. Davis is truly one of the all-time greats in Volunteer basketball history. Most notably, he holds the distinction of being the first UT player ever named a U.S. Basketball Writers Association First-Team All-American. As a high school All-American in Rutledge, Davis once scored seventy-one points in a contest against Sneedville! At Tennessee, Davis helped usher in the Ray Mears era. He played on three winning teams that culminated in a 20-5 record in 1963, his senior season, and he scored a career total of 1,225 points. Regarded as a complete player, Davis also led his squad in rebounds and was named All-SEC his junior and senior seasons. An outstanding collegiate career behind him, Davis was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, but he passed up professional basketball’s call and pursued a graduate degree instead. He began his coaching career in 1966 at McMinn Central High School before becoming an assistant coach at his college alma mater in 1970. After seven years at UT, Davis accepted the head-coaching reins at Walters State in Morristown, where he was named the Tennessee Junior College Coach of the Year after his first season. Davis retired from coaching in 1979 to enter private business, but his link to Tennessee basketball remained strong: he joined John Ward in the broadcast booth for several years, leaving that position prior to the 1982-1983 season.
