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There’s a good chance you’ve never heard the name Antoine Jackson.
Even the most ardent of college basketball fans may not know that Jackson exists.
Which is no surprise considering he’s spent his entire college carer playing for a Detroit Mercy team that has never sniffed an NIT, let alone an NCAA Tournament.
But Jackson will likely live on college basketball history books for year’s to come. That’s because he’s one of the best scorers to have ever played at the NCAA Division I level.
He (likely) wrapped up his career on Thursday night when Detroit Mercy lost to Youngstown State, 71-66, in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament.
Davis finished the game with 22 points. That gave him 3,664 for his career and left him agonizingly close to Pete Maravich’s all-time record of 3,667.
After game, Davis complained about the multiple defenses he faced against Youngstown State.
“Nobody in the country can guard me one-on-one and that’s been proven,” Davis told ESPN after the game. “I can’t be mad about it. If I had someone like me on their team, I’d have done the same thing. That’s the game plan at the end of the day.” – via ESPN
While Davis’ feat is impressive, it also requires a lot of context. He reached his point total in five full seasons, compared to, incredibly, just three for Maravich. Maravich played 83 carers college games to Davis’ 144.
The Detroit Mercy star has also had a shockingly green light throughout his carer. He averaged over 20 field goal attempts in three of his five seasons, including 21.9 attempts per game as a true freshman. The other two seasons he averaged 19.1 attempts per game.
His father, Mike, is also the coach of the Titans.
Jackson’s pursuit of the record is likely over. The Titans cannot play in the NCAA Tournament or NIT. But he could still have a chance.
Detroit Mercy could still be selected to the CBI, though it would have to pay a $50,000 entry fee.
Davis seemed open to the idea.
“The NCAA tournament is the goal,” Antoine Davis said after the loss on Thursday. “I wouldn’t have a problem with [the CBI]. I’m sure none of my teammates would have a problem with it.”
Detroit Mercy has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2012 and has just one winning season since that point.