It has become a trend we have seen a lot lately – with even the high profile players from the area – after a year or two on the college scene: the desire to be closer to home to play.
Blackhawk Christian alum Frankie Davidson joins that list as he has committed to play the 2020-21 season at Grace College as a transfer. Davidson, the 2019 Outside the Huddle Player of the Year, spent his freshman season at the University of Indianapolis and confirmed with Outside the Huddle his move to Grace early this week.
“This past year, I think it was good but I just wanted to get closer to home. It is just a good fit there [at Grace],” Davidson said, also noting the faith base of Grace playing a role after attending a christian school in high school.
“That faith elements are another big piece. Being around people that have the same mindset at me, that is something that will help me as well.”
Davidson appeared in 11 games as a freshman for the Greyhounds. During that time, he played just 4.8 minutes per game and took 20 total shots. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest.
Grace College is coached by Scott Moore, who played at Grace College after a career at Columbia City High School. Moore clearly is no stranger to the Northeast Indiana area as a player, coach and recruiter. The Lancers also recently added Prairie Heights’ Elijah Malone as a commitment for next season.
Grace was one of the first schools to reach out to Davidson in high school. The family has a lot of connections and friends there Davidson said as Grace once also recruited his father Marc, now the head coach at Blackhawk Christian. This offseason, Marc had been talking with Moore and the subject shifted to Frankie’s desire to make a move which repeaked the interest in Frankie becoming a Lancer.
“He is a great guy and I have really enjoyed talking with him,” Frankie says of Moore. “He is a great coach, last season I think proved that. I think, more than that, he is just a better person overall and I think he cares for players and more than just basketball.”
Davidson says the recruitment process was a lot different than first coming out of high school, even as it came on the front end of the pandemic. Playing closer to home narrowed down options but Grace allowed not only a quick drive home, but being able to play in the Crossroads League, where Fort Wayne area players have really thrived in recent years.
Grace was hours away from tipping off in the NAIA Tournament in South Dakota this season as a 4-seed before the season was shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancers were ranked 13th in NAIA and beat six different top-25 teams during the course of the season to finish at 19-12.
Davidson will come in to try and immediately help Grace return to that same level next year. As a senior at Blackhawk Christian, Davidson helped lead the Braves to a Class 1A state title while averaging 21.2 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. In high school, he played almost positionless, helping the Braves wherever they needed. He kind of expects that same type of play to be his hallmark at Grace.
“We kind of talked about that, about how more and more you don’t really see positions anymore,” Davidson said. “I think that can kind of transfer over, especially into the college game, being able to take smaller guards into the post and still being able to work on the perimeter as well.”
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