Former San Diego State guard transferring to Creighton
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Guard BJ Davis is transferring from the San Diego State Aztecs to the Creighton Blue Jays.
Davis was the first Aztecs player whose plans to transfer became public after the Aztecs failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons.
Davis made a buzzer-beating layup to beat New Mexico in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament, but the Aztecs lost the championship game to Utah State and were snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee for an at-large berth because of a weak resume.
He is the fourth of the six Aztecs players in the portal to find a new home. Wing Miles Byrd committed to Providence, forward Pharoh Compton signed with Oregon and Magoon Gwath landed at DePaul.
That leaves forward Miles Heide and guard Taj DeGourville looking for new homes via the portal.
What this means in the big picture
In an interesting twist, Davis, Gwath and Byrd will play against each other in the Big East.
Only Creighton finished in the top half of the Big East last season, at 9-11 in conference and 16-18 overall. DePaul was 8-12 and 16-16, while Providence finished 7-13 and 15-18.
Creighton lost to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament quarterfinals and then played in The Crown, where it beat Rutgers and lost to West Valley.
The Aztecs, meanwhile, have landed Rice guard Nick Anderson and Sacramento State forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry.
Who is BJ Davis?
Davis just finished his junior season. He came to SDSU from Modesto Christian High, where he was a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports.com. At the time of his signing, he was the No. 122 recruit nationally, the No. 17 point guard and No. 18 overall in California. He picked SDSU over schools like Boise State, Wyoming, Fresno State and Washington State.
Why Davis was important to the Aztecs
Davis was one of five players who played in all 33 games for the Aztecs and was the leader of the No. 2-ranked scoring bench in the nation. His role was important enough that he was named All-MW honorable mention.
He was second in scoring at 10.8 points per game, third in minutes at 22.2, fifth in assists at 2.2 and second in steals at 1.1.
Davis became a key player off the bench early in the season. At one point he was the team’s leading scorer despite not having made a start, and scored in double figures for seven straight games early on.
He was moved into the starting lineup for seven straight games midway through the Mountain West schedule when injuries sidelined freshman guard Elzie Harrington and forward Magoon Gwath.
He finished the season as an important bench player.
Davis’ big moments
Davis is perhaps best remembered for his steal and 3-pointer that sent a home game against Boise State into a second overtime on Jan. 3. The Aztecs ended up winning 110-107 in three overtimes after blowing a 24-point lead during regulation.
Davis finished the regular season on a high note by scoring a career high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point line, in a home win against UNLV on March 6.
He then beat the Lobos with a layup in the closing seconds of the MW tourney semis.
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Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.