A-State basketball alum Markise Davis to have pre-draft workout with Hornets

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - Jonesboro-based agency One Motive Sports hosted seven basketball players with pro basketball aspirations this summer.

One of them is Arkansas State alum Markise Davis. The former Red Wolf will have a pre-draft workout on Friday with the Charlotte Hornets. The Alabama native was a bright spot for the Red Wolves in the 2022-23 season, scoring 41 points with 8 triples over his final two games in his college career.

Davis signed with One Motive Sports after the season ended.

“I’m just waiting on a call [from a pro team] to go show them what I’ve got,” Davis said. “My biggest goal is to get one of those calls and get signed and my goal for this summer is to be a deadeye, knockdown shooter.”

CEO of One Motive Drew Kelso says he saw that potential in Davis and made it a priority to bring him on board.

“Markise is a guy that we’ve been watching the last couple years and I think he’s kind of like the dark horse of the group,” Kelso said. “We know how talented he can be, it’s just trying to keep him on the course and we don’t know where his journey is going to take him but he’s gotten some initial interest, some feedback. Whether it’s here or overseas, he’s going to have a great career.”

Part of that initial interest so far is from the Dallas Mavericks. Davis said he had a productive conversation with them following the NTX Combine. The combine showcased several draft prospects, including Markise’s former teammate and Jonesboro alum Desi Sills, as NBA teams looked on.

But as for most of this summer, Davis will be in Jonesboro working out with six other prospects, including guys from Power 5 schools like Texas A&M and Iowa State, but Davis is holding his own, as he hopes to reach his dreams of playing pro basketball.

“It would be a huge accomplishment for me because I’ve been playing for so long and I’ve been putting my body on the line, my blood on the line for this,” Davis said. “It’ll mean everything for me and for my family and for the people rooting for me, it would mean a lot.”

The same goes for the other prospects in town. Kelso and One Motive, the only NBA-licensed agency in the state of Arkansas, wanted to bring a workout to Jonesboro after holding a workout in Louisiana.

“We did this last summer in Slidell, Louisiana with Daeqwon Plowden and Drake Jeffries, both play in the [NBA Developmental League] G League,” Kelso said. “Just decided to do it at home. My partner Thomas Sandlin and I are both from Jonesboro, at the end of the day it was just special to bring it here.”

The rookies worked out at Valley View and Arkansas State, adopting the mindset of staying prepared for whatever comes next.

For former UAB center Trey Jemison, staying prepared is his mindset this summer.

“It’s a big summer for me, my first professional summer so just trying to be able to get a two-way contract or getting in that G League,” Jemison said. “It’s huge for me, it’s something I’ve been praying for for a long time so just constantly working, staying in shape, staying out of trouble and just trying to get to the best version of me.”

Jemison competed in the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia, taking 64 of the top seniors from across all of college basketball to play in front of NBA scouts. The 6-11 big man averaged 13.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game, shooting 55 percent from the field over the three games.

But for the next few months, it’ll be a season of waiting for Jemison and the prospects.

“They’re all kind of on the fringe, and they’re knocking on the door trying to get in,” Kelso said. “We always tell them just stay ready and this is a summer of unknown. You can get a call at 9:00 one night, get on a plane to Detroit or Sacramento or Indiana the next day and go work out. You have to be physically and mentally locked in, and I think that is the hardest part because when you sign a scholarship to go to college, you know where you’re going. You know, they sign with an agency, but they have no idea whether they’re going to be in the NBA, or the G League, or overseas. You have to stay ready.”

One Motive Sports Pre-Draft Workouts Roster

- G|F Angelo Allegri (Eastern Washington)

- F Dexter Dennis (Texas A&M)

- C Trey Jemison (UAB)

- G Jaren Holmes (Iowa State)

- F Markise Davis (Arkansas State)

- F Sam Iorio (Niagra)

- C Lukas Milner (Boise State)

Copyright 2023 KAIT. All rights reserved.