His brother was yet to be born, his tail was yet to be on the bench and his ego was yet to be checked. That was the Travon Davis that came to Madison four years ago as an eager and inexperienced kid.

Many times a basketball player’s identity is reflected in his style of play. That adage can be ignored when talking about Davis. His up-and-down, fast-break, occasionally frantic pace is the complete converse of whom he has become. But at least for the first part of his career his style of play was his definitive trait. His on-court relationship with former UW basketball coach Dick Bennett was rocky at times, and his lifestyle did not fit where he was.

“I remember times where I would call home or talk to my dad and he and my mother were always there positive for me when I wanted to get out of here,” Davis said. “This wasn’t the place for me because I was arrogant and cocky, and I wasn’t getting to do what I wanted to be doing. I was a phone call away from leaving.”

The Travon Davis of today would scoff at the kid he was four years ago.

“I’ve been through a maturing process,” Davis said. “When I first came here I was a bushy-eyed kid who was just coming out of high school, and I thought I was the man. I was all state in Illinois and then I came here, and little did I know, I was in for a rude awakening. When you leave high school and go to the Big Ten you have to pay your dues. I wanted to come in and be what I was in high school and it’s not always that easy.”

The much-maligned relationship between Davis and Bennett was hype, according to the eloquent Davis, who blames himself and not Bennett for his lack of playing time.

“I think coach Bennett did what he had to do with the type of personnel he had at the time,” Davis said. “He didn’t have guys that fit the style of play that we had this year (with Bo Ryan). Vershaw, and I’m not knocking him, was like a camel and I am like a cheetah. You have to give coach [Bennett] credit for understanding that and knowing what it took and he did that to the utmost by us reaching the Final Four.”

It was not until the end of his freshman year at UW that Davis realized he was headed in the wrong direction and, ironically, it took a baby for him to grow up.

“After my little brother was born and I wasn’t there for his birth, I realized here is my opportunity to do something,” Davis said. “I can make life simple for the little guy and for my mother not to have to work so hard to send him to school. I want him to be able to call me and say ‘Big brother, I want to go to this college’ or ‘Big brother, I want the new Jordan’s’ and I get them with the snap of a finger. The only way I can do that is to do what I’m doing now and making myself a better person and basketball is only a small part of my life.”

After three years of playing sparingly, Davis was ready to enter his final year with the Badgers. After Brad Soderberg was let go as head coach and Bo Ryan was hired, Davis admitted he had no idea who Ryan was.

“I needed the opportunity,” Davis said. “When coach Ryan came in, he gave me the opportunity and it was a blessing. There is not another coach in the country that I would want for my senior year.”

It was not before long that Ryan became the final piece to Davis’ maturing process that involved more than making free throws late in games (which Davis certainly learned to do) or committing less turnovers.

“Life is about adjustments,” Davis said. “When I came to this university they were paying for my education, not coach Bennett, not coach Soderberg and not coach Ryan, and they decided to bring coach Ryan in. To his credit he is a great coach and great person and not knowing anything about him when he came in allowed me to accept change and adapt.”

Davis is looking to follow the footsteps of his father, Anthony, who played at Marquette in the late ’70s and early ’80s, by completing a basketball career and moving into the business world.

“I interned with the Phillip Morris cooperation last summer as a sales representative,” Davis Said. “And this summer I’m doing the same thing at Phillip Morris. I am going to continue playing because I am looking to go overseas in December when I finish up my degree. I promised my parents I would finish up my degree and on my mother’s side I’ll be the first grandson to get a degree. I want to be my own entrepreneur. I want to see how successful I can be as a business person. My father is a real successful businessman, and I want to eventually make more money than him.”

Davis has already been in contact with professional teams in Brazil and Australia, but it will never be the basketball that people will remember Travon Davis for.

Undoubtedly he was a vital cog in the Badgers’ Big Ten championship team in 2002, but when it is all said and done, his athletic prowess will never be matched with a Mike Kelley, Sean Mason or even a Kirk Penney, but Davis is as real as they come. He is a lot more concerned with being a good man and setting a good example for his little brother Daniel than he is with scoring 15 points a night.

Just give Davis a call and let his voice mail pick up. “Hi, this is Travon Davis. I apologize for not being able to take your call right now, but I am out being a productive citizen. Your call is important to me, so I will get back to you as soon as possible. Have a great day.”

That’s the voice of a young man well beyond his years.