NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — When Robert Davis Jr. enters one of his zones for Old Dominion, there's not much that can mess with him.
"It's a flow state. Everything feels natural," he said. "You don't think, you just do. It's not hard to get in to them and it's not hard to get out of them."
In just 12 games in Norfolk, the transfer has made an immediate impact. His 14.8 points per game leads the team in scoring and his 46 threes are the most in the Sun Belt.
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The sharpshooting guard's presence on the floor brings a gravity that's felt even when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.
"Rob may not have to be the one to shoot the ball," said head coach Mike Jones, "but Sean Durugordon being able to get downhill and get to the basket, Jaden Johnson being able to get downhill and get to the basket a lot of times is impact being on the court with Rob with them."
That was an observation Jones made long before taking the head coaching job at his alma mater last spring.
"I recruited (Davis') AAU program when I was at Virginia Tech. So going into his senior year, I'm pretty sure I saw every game he played," he said. "I always thought he is someone I'd love to coach because of the way he shoots the ball, the energy and passion he has."
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When Oliver Prunell became ODU's head coach in 1991, his first recruit was Mike Jones.
Three decades later, Jones getting to give that honor to someone else. His previous relationship with Davis Jr., who entered the transfer portal after one season at UMass, made it an easy choice.
"It was a sense of he wanted me here. You don't really get that too often," the guard said. "A head coach calling you and telling you he wants you and he needs you here to be successful as a team. Ever since he called me on that phone, I felt like this has been the place to be."
"The opportunity presented itself, and I was going to shoot my shot," Jones said.
Davis validated his head coach's trust right out of the gates this season, sinking eight threes in the season opening matchup against Buffalo. Dealing with an injury, however, he missed the team's game against Arizona and struggled to find that same consistency after returning for a stretch but his confidence and impact never wavered.
"He's still going to smile, he's still gonna play with passion, he's gonna be one of the loudest voices in the locker room," Jones said. "There's a quality he has in terms of energy he brings to a team."
In the last three games, Davis has found his stroke again. He made five triples against Northeastern, then scored 32 points with seven threes in the Monarchs' Sun Belt opening with at Louisiana-Monroe, and followed that up with six shots from beyond the arc in a win over Virginia Wesleyan last Saturday.
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"Being a shooter, you have to have a short-term memory. There will be times you'll go 1-for-9, but then the next game you'll go 9-for-10," Davis said. "Just being able to go onto the next play is so valuable. It's not about what happens to you, but how you respond from it."
It's still early in his time in the 757, but Davis has quickly embraced everything about his new home and team .
"We have a tight knit group, we try to keep it family oriented in men's basketball, women's basketball," he said. "We go support volleyball, we go support football, being around campus and showing you're more than a basketball player."
When Davis' shot is falling, his impact is massive. It's what he's done when it's not, however, that's proved him worthy of being that first recruit.
"Just that great energy he brings, that's contagious," Jones said. "He's a special young man."
"I wanted to be somewhere I could affect winning," Davis said. "(Jones) has put me in a position to do so and I couldn't thank him enough."
Old Dominion dives back into Sun Belt play on Thursday night when Arkansas State comes to Chartway Arena at 7:00 PM.
