Robert Edris Davies (January 15, 1920 – April 22, 1990) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Alongside Bobby Wanzer he formed one of the best backcourt duos in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

's early years. Davies and Wanzer led the

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

to the 1951 NBA championship. Davies was also a former basketball coach at the

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

and was inducted to the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

on April 11, 1970. Although

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy ( , born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. He played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

is often considered the originator of the behind-the-back dribble, many say Davies actually deserves the credit. His Seton Hall coach, John "Honey" Russell, once said, "He had such uncanny control of the ball behind his back that it never concerned me. He made it look as easy as the conventional dribble."

College career and military service

Davies entered Seton Hall in 1938 on a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

scholarship, but Russell persuaded him to concentrate on basketball after seeing him practice once. Never a high scorer—his best college average was 11.8 points a game—Davies was a consummate passer and play-maker.." Known as the "Harrisburg Houdini", Davies led Seton Hall to 43 consecutive victories from 1939 into 1941. His spectacular skills helped attract the largest crowd in basketball history at the time, 18,403 people, to

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in March 1941, when Seton Hall beat

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

in a quarter-final game of the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

. An All-American guard in 1941 and 1942, Davies joined the

U. S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during World War II and led the Great Lakes Naval Training Station team to a 34–3 record before going overseas.

College statistics

Professional career

After the war, he joined the Rochester Royals and played with them through the 1954–55 season. Davies helped lead the Royals to an NBL title in 1946, and was named MVP of the NBL for the 1946–47 season. Davies was named to the NBA All-NBA First-Team four straight years, from 1949 through 1952, and he led the NBA in assists with 321 in 1948–49. In his 10 NBL/NBA seasons, Davis scored 7,770 points, averaging 13.7 a game, and had 2,250 assists. He added 904 points and 182 assists in 67 playoff games. He was one of the ten players named to the

NBA 25th Anniversary Team The NBA 25th Anniversary Team was chosen on December 11, 1971, to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. It was the first anniversary team ...

in 1971.

Coaching career

Davies coached Seton Hall in 1946–47, while playing with the Royals, and compiled a 24–3 record. After retiring as a player, he coached

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

for two seasons, winning 28 games while losing 19.

Legacy

The No. 11 jersey worn by Davies during his playing days with the Rochester Royals was retired by the team. The Sacramento Kings, the present holders of the franchise, continue the honor. In 2024, however, Davies' family gave permission for

Domantas Sabonis Domantas Sabonis (; born May 3, 1996) is a Lithuanian–American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Lithuanian national team. Son of the Hall of Fame player Arvydas Sabon ...

to un-retire the number and change to No. 11 in honor of his father,

Arvydas Sabonis Arvydas Romas Sabonis (; born 19 December 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Sabonis won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, including the Spanish ...

, who formerly played for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. After retiring from basketball, Davies was a salesman for the Converse Shoe Companybr>

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

*
New York Times obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Bob 1920 births 1990 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from New Jersey Basketball players from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg Bullets men's basketball coaches Guards (basketball) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Rochester Royals players Seton Hall Pirates baseball coaches Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball coaches Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania United States Navy personnel of World War II