Caen BC. Kevin Bracy-Davis, the globe-trotter from Cincinnati

By his own admission, nothing predestined Kevin Bracy-Davis to marry a basketball career. His debut with the ball in hand at the age of 6 or 7 under the watchful eye of his parents, themselves amateur basketball players, proved to be hesitant. “When I was younger, I never thought I would be a professional basketball player one day,” recognizes the Ohio State native as NBA superstars Lebron James and Steph Curry.

However, by dint of character and hard work, he climbed the ranks one by one and during his studies in physical preparation at Elkins & Davis University in West Virginia, he realized his potential and decided to make basketball his profession. Places for the NBA Draft and in the lower divisions being expensive in the United States, he chose, like many university players from his native country, exile to launch his career: the start of a long journey that led him to the Palais des Sports in Caen, where it has been on the floor since September and the resumption of the National 1 championship.

9 countries and 4 continents scoured in the space of 4 years

Throughout her travels which have taken her successively to Chile, Spain, Greece, Qatar, Germany, Canada interspersed with several trips to Finland, her journey has been strewn with pitfalls between fallen hopes and incessant moves.

His journey thus begins in South America, in Chile, a country which is not necessarily famous for its culture of the orange ball. It was a default choice, concedes the Cincinnati native.

I was tired of waiting for the ideal proposal, I was young and very impatient to start my professional career as soon as possible so I jumped at the chance and went for it.

Somewhat chaotic beginnings are linked in particular to a repositioning in the field. His double meter (he is 2.01m) is used inside the racket as he excels in the winger position. He did not drag on in Chile and rebounded at Ponferrada in the lower Spanish divisions where he found his favorite position. This passage is conclusive and allows him to make himself known on the Old Continent.

An end in blood sausage in Greece

This is how he landed in the Korihait club, a Finnish D1 resident. He made a strong impression there and at the end of the 2017-2018 season, he attracted the attention of the Cretan club of Rethymno Cretan Kings which played in the first division of the famous Greek championship.

Greece is so far the country in which I have felt the best both in sport and extra-sport.

Despite a remarkable start to the season which earned him offers from clubs in the Russian first division, the Greek idyll ended in black pudding when his team found itself stuck in a spiral of defeats. He gradually disappears from his coach’s papers.

« From there that I chained the misadventures »

Still under contract but more in the odor of sanctity within the Greek club, he returns to Finland, this time to the Kataja club in the form of a loan. Back in Greece, his club blocked his contract until the deadline for the end of the transfer window and did not pay him all of the sums due. He then questions himself: “I thought I had arrived by signing in Greece and paradoxically, it was from there that I had a series of misadventures. « 

Free from any contract, the interested clubs do not jostle at the gate, and for lack of anything better, he makes a quick stint of a few months in Germany where his playing time will be very reduced and once again, he will not receive a part of His salary.

One year in Qatar

In search of more financial stability, Kevin Bracy-Davis decides to settle down in Qatar for a year. He remembers from this experience that “the infrastructures were of good quality but the theaters sounded hollow. By signing in the Middle East, we no longer have the same visibility with European clubs. It’s a bit like starting from scratch ”. After a short freelance across the Atlantic in the heart of the Covid crisis in spring 2020, he decided to join Finland for the third time in his career, because breaking into European basketball has always been the leitmotif of the new Caen recruit since. his exodus.

European basketball is catching up with American basketball. The NBA, and the regular season in particular, is more of a show with a lot of 3-point shoots and defenses leaving a lot of space while in Europe, the defenses are tighter and the offensive game is more collective there especially because that some FIBA ​​rules differ from those of the NBA.

A European style of play in which he finds himself more and which is more in line with his vision of basketball.

Last season, at the Ura club in Finland, he found the American coach who had brought him in during his first visit to this country. He gives him his trust and this allows him to achieve his most successful season with nearly 22 points average per game and finished in second place among the top scorers in the championship.

France’s choice

When his agent shows him Caen’s interest, he immediately makes him understand that this interest is mutual. A phone conversation with the coach finally convinced him and that’s how he landed in Caen during the summer. Since arriving in Europe, France has always been in the sights of number 0 of the CBC.

Passionate about his sport to such an extent that he follows all the news in the broad sense, from the NBA to all the championships through which he has been, he describes himself as « addicted to videos of matches, summaries of matches even vintage matches ”. In particular, he closely followed the last Olympic Games in Tokyo and he admits with great frankness and admiration that « the France team and its excellent roster made its compatriots of the famous Dream Team tremble » in the final of the last Games. Olympics, after beating them in the first group match.

This does not surprise me because the French championships are competitive championships with a lot of quality players so it makes sense that the national team continues to improve.

Came with his wife and their newborn baby

Arrived in France during the summer, in the company of his wife and their four-month-old newborn, he hastened to visit Paris but also the D-Day landing beaches where he enjoys spending time with his family. Although a lover of the beach, he admits, however, « to have benefited less when it was necessary to string together grueling motor skills in the sand » during the pre-season preparation with his CBC teammates.

Even if he knows American football better – his father is an unconditional fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers – his many trips have allowed him to discover football or soccer as it is called at home, a discipline he had discovered during his university years as part of his training in physical preparation. He does not rule out going to the Michel d’Ornano stadium soon. “I walked past and was impressed by the quality of their infrastructure. « 

Best team scorer

Despite his recent arrival in Normandy, he blended in perfectly with the Caen collective, in particular thanks to the help of captain Moïse Diamé and winger Bryson Pope, both bilingual and admits having been very well received by the entire team. group. “Some of my teammates have been playing together for a number of years now and they made me feel so welcome that I forget I just arrived,” he said in September. An express integration that differs from what he may have known in the past.

When you arrive at a new club, as Americans, we often tend to stick to each other and it can take a while to bond with the local players.

He hopes to return the favor to his teammates and so far it’s off to a good start. Author of remarkable debuts with 16.6 points on average recorded over the first six league games, he contributed greatly to the good start of the Normandy season. His qualities as a scorer combined with his mental faculties drawn from his extraordinary career will undoubtedly be additional strengths for Caen in his quest for accession to Pro B.

Stephen HEGARTY

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