By Jason Erickson
Isaac Davis does not jog into moments. He arrives in all caps. During Utah Valley's rivalry win over Utah Tech on Jan. 10, the sophomore forward did not just score a career-high 23 points. He brought noise, swagger, and the kind of electricity that makes teammates sit up straighter and crowds lean forward. It was the performance of a player fully leaning into who he is: loud when it matters, calm when he needs to be, and always bringing the juice.
"I just love playing with the guys," Davis said. "I love playing for this team. Being here was the best thing I could probably do, honestly."
That joy is what stands out first. Teammates feel it. Opposing fans see it. His family has known it for years. But the version of Davis fans see now, the energy-giver who smiles through contact and dunks through traffic, started a long time ago with a roll of toilet paper in his childhood home in Idaho Falls. Davis would run around the house launching toilet paper rolls into the trash can. His first real memory of basketball came when his parents bought him a hoop for Christmas. He spent the morning jumping off the couch and dunking on a miniature rim.
Football was his first love. Basketball did not become serious until coaches started calling when he was around nine or ten. They invited him to travel and play on circuits, and he realized there might be something more to it than fun. He also picked up someone to model himself after: LeBron James. Davis loved the passing, the reads, and the way LeBron made the game better for the players around him. If you have watched Davis at Utah Valley, that comparison makes sense. It is not the scoring that defines him as much as the joy of involving others, lifting teammates, and celebrating their success.
"I'm a people guy," he said. "I love to make other people happy. It's more than just basketball at the end of the day."
Davis comes from a big family with four siblings and lots of nieces and nephews. It was the kind of household where being adopted never meant being alone. His values reflect that upbringing: put God first, love people, be loyal, and smile often. He is closest to his sister Jenna, who he calls his best friend, but his dad is his hero.
"My dad is my superhero," he said. "Even when he got off work and was tired, he would always make sure I got shots up."
His grandmother has been another constant. She wore his jersey in the front row at high school games and he still calls her before big ones. She brings peace and good luck.
With that support behind him, success followed at Hillcrest High School in Idaho Falls. He helped deliver the school's first state championships and became one of Idaho's top recruits. BYU was the school he grew up wanting to play for, and when they offered, he committed.
"I loved BYU," Davis said. "That was where I wanted to go."
When the coaching staff changed, Davis adjusted. He flipped to Utah State, which was close to home and offered a strong basketball culture and big-stage opportunities.
College basketball humbled him early. "It was hard," he said. "High school basketball is a lot different than college. The pace and speed and physicality. It took me a little while to adjust." Once he settled in, he loved it. He loved the crowds, the noise, and the student section, and he loved playing in the NCAA Tournament. Watching his team's name appear on the bracket for the first time did not feel real.
"Even to this day I still can't believe I was actually there," he said.
After a year in Logan, Davis wanted more playing time and a role he could grow into. Utah Valley offered both. The fact that his former Utah State teammate, guard
Braden Housley, was also transferring played a key part. Davis and Housley lived together in Logan and now live together again in Orem. Davis calls him "House." They are opposites in personality but balance each other out.
"Sometimes you have to have a quiet person and a loud person," Davis laughed. "If you're too quiet, you gotta get loud. It's a good combo."
Utah Valley had a new roster with new faces, so chemistry had to be built in practice, on the bus, in a preseason tournament in Cancun, and in living rooms with 2K battles and trash talk. Somewhere between the noise and the laughs and the trust, Davis found something else: confidence.
"Coming here made me realize who I am as a person and that I'm good at playing basketball," he said. "I can hoop."
That combination of high-energy personality with a calm competitive core is what makes Davis unique. He talks more now. He communicates. And he brings an edge that teammates feed off of. When he gets into a rhythm in a game, it shows. The game slows down and he becomes comfortable.
"When I'm in the zone, it's just calming," he said. "When I'm comfortable, I'm comfortable."
He calls it "bringing the juice," and he sees it as part of his responsibility. "I always bring the juice. Not every day," he said with a grin. "But most days. That's just how I've always been." He sees himself as a team player to the core. Not just in theory, but in how the game actually looks.
"It's fun to watch team basketball," he said. "When you see a team that can communicate and share the ball, that's what's fun."
Utah Valley sits atop the WAC standings, and Davis has been a rising reason why. He is still learning leadership, still figuring it out, as he puts it, but he brings a mature perspective to winning.
"Being number one doesn't mean anything," he said. "It is going to be a war every single game. It just depends on who works harder and who wants it more."
Ask him about the NCAA Tournament and his voice lifts. The Wolverines have never been there, and the chance to break that barrier carries weight.
"It would mean everything," he said. "To go twice, and to take a program that has never been there. That is history."
What Davis hopes people remember about him at Utah Valley is simple.
"A great person who loved everybody," he said.
The long-term goal is to make it, but not at the cost of the bigger mission.
"My goal honestly is being positive every day," he said. "Just being grateful. Even if something is negative, always look back and be like, 'This is why I'm here.' God puts situations in your life because He knows you can get through them."
Utah State was hard. Transferring was hard. Adjusting was hard. But Davis sees purpose in all of it.
"Now I'm here," he said. "And I made the best decision I could ever make."
If someone made a documentary about this Utah Valley team, Davis says the whole roster is the star. He would be the first to celebrate that. But anyone watching closely knows the truth.
Isaac Davis brings the juice, and the Wolverines are better for it.
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