The coach from Down Under — Brad Davidson — has ascended to his hoop dreams.
This summer, Davidson was promoted to associate head coach, the top assistant to UH head coach Eran Ganot. Davidson is the Rainbow Warriors’ offensive coordinator, guard coach, scout and international recruiter.
After living in North and South Dakota for five years, Davidson, his Australia-reared wife and their children have made an easy adjustment since moving to Hawaii in 2021.
“I knew this would be the perfect fit for the family,” Davidson said. “I wouldn’t have to worry about putting boots, gloves and jackets on the kids in the middle of the winter as they go outside. This feels a lot like Australia.”
His children also speak with an American accent. “When we pick them up from school and we talk, the other kids look around,” Davidson said of his Australian accent. “That’s cute, as well.”
During his UH tenure, Davidson helped develop guards Noel Coleman, JoVon McClanahan and Juan Munoz into confident shooters, ball-screen drivers and aggressive defenders. This year, he is overseeing Tom Beattie’s move from wing to point guard.
Davidson’s coaching style involves diligent studying and detailed training. It was a method he used when he decided to switch goals of becoming the next Michael Roach, a former full forward for Richmond’s Australian rules football team, to a basketball point guard.
“I liked hitting people,” he said of Australia’s version of football, “but I wasn’t fast enough to do it. Some say I took the AFL into basketball with the physicality.”
Ahead of grade 10, he signed up for metal-work and wood-work classes. Applying those skills, he built a basketball rim in the backyard and also made a weight-lifting bench.
In his native Mullumbimby, a town with a population of about 5,000, Davidson delivered newspapers in the morning and milk in the afternoon. He used his earnings to buy basketball shoes in the Gold Coast, a 45-minute bus ride from Mullumbimby. At the publishing plant, he would clip basketball stories from past-due magazines and newspapers.
Later, he would spend weekends in Grafton playing for a club team. “I’d travel on weekends two hours, catching the train,” Davidson recalled. ‘I’d play weekends and be back in time for the paper run the next day.”
That eventually led to a 13-year playing career in the National Basketball League, Australia’s top pro division. When he was 35, he said, “I could no longer put my shoes on in the morning. My back went out the last year I played.”
He retired from playing, but not from basketball. While working with Basketball Australia at Centre of Excellence, he met Ganot, who was recruiting. Davidson said he would be interested if a spot ever opened on the UH coaching staff. After coaching at North Dakota and South Dakota, the call finally came.
“As you go through this, you always have your head down and try to do the best job you can,” Davidson said.
Of his promotion, Davidson said: “It’s nice to be rewarded. I’m appreciative of Eran for doing this for me. But I also want to be successful. He’s been great to me. I want to repay that faith, and get us back to the (NCAA) Tournament.”
SCOUTING REPORT
Guards
New Zealand-reared Tom Beattie was recruited as a point guard. But with a logjam at last year’s 1, Beattie spent most games on the perimeter. With JoVon McClanahan, Noel Coleman and Juan Munoz completing their eligibility, Beattie is back running the offense. At 6-5, Beattie can defend 1 through 3. Marcus Greene, a transfer from Houston Christian, will open at off guard. But in UH’s double- point schemes, Greene gives the ’Bows a second playmaker. Kody Williams, a 6-foot guard who earned a scholarship last month, has a 471⁄2-inch vertical jump and is capable of sprinting three-quarters of the court in a laser-time 2.88 seconds, according to team testing. AJ Economou, who transferred to UH in January, also is part of the guard rotation.
Wings
Three seasons ago, the ’Bows realized four could not be divided equally. Instead of rotating Jerome Desrosiers and Kamaka Hepa at the 4, head coach Eran Ganot played the 6-foot-10 Hepa at the wing. The intent was Hepa would provide another board crasher who could shoot over shorter defenders. With Gytis Nameiksa, a 6-8 transfer from Xavier, playing well at the 4 spot, 6-10 Akira Jacobs moved to the 3. Similar to Hepa, Jacobs is a tough cover on post-up moves, step-back jumpers and 3s. Ryan Rapp, who is recovering from a hand injury, offers a different look from the wing than Jacobs.
Posts
With the departures of centers Bernardo da Silva and Mor Seck, 6-10 Tanner Christensen was a natural replacement in the low post. Christensen has expanded his game from being a back-to-the-basket post. He has a dependable mid-range shot. He also is the ’Bows’ best screener, a key element in their offense. Jerome Palm, who was at two different junior colleges before playing for Valparaiso, has battled Christensen in preseason workouts.
