'Mr. Seton Hill' Nate Davis takes lessons from Griffins' trying season

Nate Davis thinks worldly and reacts positively as he navigates through his final basketball season at Seton Hill.

He takes the bad with the good and remains magnanimous no matter the outcome of games.

This has been a trying year for the Griffins (2-13, 1-9) but Davis, the third-leading scorer in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, seems to have the proper perspective.

It’s the true mark of a veteran player who won’t relent until the final buzzer of his final game.

“Basketball teaches a lot of life lessons,” the senior guard said. “Many of them you can follow. I have just been so blessed to be able to play here. We just have to hit the reset button, stay focused and get better.”

A fourth-year starter, Davis is leading the Griffins in the scoring column with 18.8 points per game. He has hit a team-best 30 3-pointers and is a deadly accurate foul shooter, having made 43 of 49 attempts (88%).

Somewhat quietly, Davis has climbed the Seton Hill scoring list, passing some talented players along the way.

Last week, he brushed by former teammate Trevor Blondin to move into second place with 1,456 points.

Chris Giles (2009-12) has the record with 1,864 points.

Davis, dubbed “Nasty Nate” by teammates when he first arrived on campus, averaged 19.2 points last season to earn All-PSAC second-team recognition.

“I just wanted to come here and play the best basketball I could play,” Davis said. “And do what I could to help change the culture.”

His coach trumpets praise for the 6-foot-4 guard.

“Nate’s been absolutely phenomenal for us,” Seton Hill coach Kendrick Saunders said. “He brings it every day. I spent 30 seconds with him and knew he was the right captain for this team.”

Saunders calls Davis, “Mr. Seton Hill.”

“He has been a great leader in our program,” Saunders said. “And one of our hardest workers.”

One of the highlights of Davis’ career was playing alongside his brother, Noah, who graduated in 2017. Noah Davis finished with 1,244 points, seventh on the Griffins’ scoring list.

“That meant a lot,” Nate Davis said.

Nate Davis is a graduate of Bellwood-Antis High School in PIAA District 6 (Johnstown and surrounding areas) where he is the all-time leading scorer with 2,049 points.

In high school, he experienced three 20-win seasons and won a district title in Class 2A. But there was a five-win season hiding in the bushes when he was a sophomore, perhaps something that helped prepare him for the peaks and valleys of college ball.

“It made me work harder,” he said.

Nine of the 14 players on the Seton Hill roster are freshmen, so players like Davis can go a long way in educating the names of the future.

“It’s about building a foundation,” Davis said. “I just try to set the best example I can.”

Davis, who had a 31-point game against Alderson Broaddus, speaks with confidence and optimism in two languages. A Spanish Education major, he hopes to teach his second language. He has applied for a Fulbright grant, a cultural-exchange program, to potentially teach abroad.

“It’s in the works,” he said. “I hope to find out at the end of the month.”

Being able to use his language skills and play professional basketball in a Spanish-speaking country is a vision for Davis.

“That’s the dream,” he said. “I hope to pursue the pro route. We’ve had some guys from here go on to play professionally. The stars have to align, but I want to see if that’s a possibility. I love to travel.”