Boys basketball: ‘He puts winning first’ — With more attention on him, Davis responds with big sophomore season for state runner-up Warren

With the season he had last year as a ninth-grader, there was no way Warren Township boys basketball standout Jaxson Davis was sneaking up on anybody this season.

So, like any great in their chosen profession does, Davis turned the dial even further to the right, helping lead the Blue Devils on a memorable run that culminated this past weekend in a Class 4A state runner-up finish in Champaign — Warren’s third second-place state finish in program history and first trip to the state finals since 2011.

When the chips were on the line, Davis delivered without fail — his complete body of work, a masterpiece, worthy of him being named the captain of the 2025 Daily Herald Lake County All-Area boys basketball team for a second year in a row.

“He’s an all-around basketball player who affects the game in so many ways,” said Chicago Lincoln Park coach Josh Anderson, whose team lost to Warren 59-58 in the championship game of the prestigious Proviso West Holiday tournament in Hillside where Davis was named tournament MVP for a second year in a row (21 points, 4 assists against Lincoln Park).

“He controls the game with his pace, decision-making and shot-making ability. He is always a threat, even when he does not have the ball. He moves well off the ball to get others open.”

Grant coach Wayne Bosworth was on the opposing bench for Davis’ first game as a freshman and also this season during a Class 4A regional semifinal loss to the Blue Devils at McHenry.

“We tried to box-and-1 him in his very first varsity game as a freshman,” Bosworth recalled. “He was disciplined enough to only shoot it 9 times (still scoring 15 points) while having the IQ to attack, draw multiple defenders and dish out 8 assists to his teammates in his first varsity game. When I saw him do that and not come in as a highly touted freshman and try to get 20 shots off and go for 30-plus points, I knew his basketball intelligence was on another level than some other great players who have come through Lake County.”

The 6-1 sophomore point guard, who is already over the 1,000-career point mark at Warren, averaged 19.6 points per game this season, while also leading the Blue Devils in assists (6.0) and steals (he had a combined 11 steals in the two state games in Champaign), not to mention possessing an assist-to-turnover ratio above 3.5 in a season that ended with his second Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 4A all-state first-team honor. He was one of two sophomores on the 4A first team.

“Our year was a little different than last year,” said Warren coach Zack Ryan, who went over the 200-win plateau in his career recently. “The schedule was a little tougher and he was not sneaking up on anybody. It also was a little different because we had some injuries and teams were able to put extra focus on him, especially in the first half of the season, and load up on him. When everybody knows about you, it’s different, there’s the added pressure. He stepped it up to the next level from where he was last year and had another great year.”

Case in point the Class 4A Waukegan sectional title game against the host Bulldogs in front of a packed house in one of the state’s great venues for watching a high school basketball game.

Warren had lost to the North Suburban Conference co-champions twice during the regular season by 10 and 3 points. Again, when the fire was burning at 5-alarm levels, there was Davis front and center posting 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in a 10-point win that put the Blue Devils a win away from Lou Henson Court in Champaign.

“Jaxson plays with an extremely high basketball IQ and is able to see and exploit mistakes that his matchup or the defense makes,” Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw said. “Conversely, he makes few mistakes with the ball and gets the ball to its intended destination on time, on target and for a purpose.”

Chicago DePaul College Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt, whose team won the Class 3A state title last weekend, and also beat Warren by 8 points in an early January game, said the lights are never too bright for Davis, even at an early high school age.

“Jaxson Davis is a true point guard who is really good in all facets of the game. He runs the team, he guards the best player and is a big shot maker,” he said. “He’s tough to defend because he’s smooth and under control. He can hurt you in transition, off the bounce and beyond the arc, as well as being a playmaker for his team.”

McHenry coach Corky Card, whose team lost to Warren in the regional final this season on its home floor, said the first thing that jumps out about Davis is how hard it is to rattle him.

“He just won’t be sped up,” Card explained. “Great players dictate their own pace, and Jaxson does that. He’s a skilled guard with plus-range on his shot and crafty handles that let him break down defenses. He’s emerging as a strong finisher at the rim, but what really makes him a nightmare to guard is his vision. He slices into tight spaces and always seems to find his teammates with pinpoint passes. The best players make the ones around them better.”

Card added Davis’ defense is one aspect of his game that gets overlooked. “His on-ball pressure and ability to disrupt the ballhandler make him a threat on both ends. He’s already a problem, and as he gets stronger physically, he’s only going to be tougher to deal with.”

Davis, who scored a combined 44 points in the two state games in Champaign against Rich Township and Benet Academy, figured this year would be a tad harder given what occurred his freshman year.

“Teams probably watched more film,” said Davis, who went for 17 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals in the state-title loss to Benet. “I got face-guarded a little more than normal. I tried to find weak spots and I think I did a pretty good job handling all that.”

But in that context, for Davis, two things mattered most, getting his teammates involved and winning.

“My teammates helped a tremendous amount,” he said. “There’s guys like big man Zach (Ausburn, 6-8 senior center) and Javerion Banks (senior guard) — the whole team came up big. Knowing I have teammates who have my back the whole way through is an amazing feeling. This season was tough. We had guys in and out all year with sickness and being hurt. Our guys on the bench gave us more minutes. They were coming into big games and playing more minutes than normal. When we got to these big games, we were ready to play and it showed. It showed how deep our team can go.

“I progressed in leading the team more. We had a difficult start to the season. I took on the role and the challenge coach gave me. We learned how to win with this team and just play basketball.”

DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds, whose team lost to Warren in the Waukegan sectional semifinals, saw Davis’ leadership traits first hand.

“Jaxson is such a good leader and floor general, he celebrates his teammates successes more than his own,” he said. “He is scary to game plan for because he puts winning first, which is very rare for elite high school players.”

Davis said he’s just getting started in terms of his improvement.

“I can get better in every aspect of the game,” he said. “There is always room for improvement. I might be good at something, but I can get better at it. I am going to keep working every day.”

Ryan said Davis consistently hit all the right buttons this season.

“He’s been in so many situations because he’s played basketball so long,” he said. “He always knows the right play to make. He knows when to make a pass, where to make a pass and when he needs to take over. He knows what’s a good shot, a bad shot, he knows strategy on the floor, how to take care of his body and how to lead by example and vocally. He does all those things great. He did a great job. Him being that consistent leader and captain — we wouldn’t be here without him.”