Cleveland, OH
Origin Stories: Kent State’s VonCameron Davis
Everyone sees what happens on gameday. The points, the big plays, the final score and the numbers each player produces. But being a great basketball player is about so much more than that. It’s about the work that happens when no one’s watching, the dedication to the team and the willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
The college basketball scene is filled with great players, but Kent State’s VonCameron Davis is one of the most underrated players in the country. Not only are his on-court statistics impressive — but he’s also an all-around great teammate who does so many things that impact winning.
An Ohio native, Davis stayed close to home and has spent all five of his collegiate seasons with the Golden Flashes in Kent, Ohio. Drawing comparisons to Jae’Sean Tate and showing flashes of Draymond Green, he’s the ultimate winner and brings an edge to Kent State with his versatile skillset and leadership.
“I just influence winning. I think that’s what I do,” Davis said in an interview with Draft Digest when asked to describe his game.
But to get to this point, it was a long journey with hundreds of hours in the gym before the sun was shining. It all started with a teenage version of Davis looking up to his parents and their work ethic.
“My parents are extremely hard workers. They really introduced me to sports very early on,” Davis told Draft Digest. “My dad was a truck driver and my mom was a bus driver, so they woke up at the crack of dawn every day. So just seeing them wake up every day, just go to work every day with a great attitude and being positive just put something in me.”
Work ethic, drive and self-motivation are all traits that are hard to teach later in life. Davis learned these things early in life, which later proved to be a catalyst when he decided basketball was the sport he wanted to focus on. As a kid, he played other sports — including soccer, football, wrestling and swimming — but the summer after eighth grade changed everything.
“I started really taking basketball seriously in eighth grade going into my freshman year,” Davis recalled. “Me and my dad got a few trainers I made it a commitment — me and my dad, we made a commitment with my trainer. We were going to wake up every day at 5:00 a.m., get ready for a high school basketball and be prepared for everything I needed to be prepared for. My parents instilled that work ethic.”
The Kent State star would go on to say that the work ethic instilled in him early on made it easy to get better all throughout high school. His coach would open the gym before school early in the morning for a workout every day and then allow him to stay late after practice following the end of the day.
As Davis looks ahead to his next chapter beyond the college level, he has an interesting archetype. He’s essentially a “tweener” type player, which is commonly viewed as a negative — but is actually a positive if leveraged the right way. At 6-foot-6, he spends a lot of time playing as a forward, but also possesses some guard skills. He’s frequently asked to play three or four positions on the floor, notably as a jumbo creator or undersized frontcourt piece.
“I’m a switchable defender. I can hit threes. I can iso. I can play in the post. I just think my game is just like ultimate plug-and-play. I love getting my teammates involved,” Davis mentioned when asked about his versatility.
One of the most impressive things about Davis’ college journey has been his loyalty to the program. In an era of player mobility — during the birth of NIL and record transfer rates — he has remained at Kent State for all five years.
“Know your values,” Davis said when asked why he never left the Golden Flashes. “I could have definitely gone somewhere else and played. But with my situation I have at Kent State, I know it’s a brotherhood and it’s a family. Everybody at Kent State has a tradition of wanting to win. I knew I could keep being a big part of us winning.”
While he may not be a household name across the country, Davis is the complete package — on and off the court. He provides a well-rounded and versatile skillset while also having the level-headed mindset to obsess over the details and do whatever it takes to win.
His game will translate at the professional level, especially given how much value he provides on both ends of the court. He’s a moldable player who can lead an offense as the primary scorer, or play off-ball and find ways to make life easier for teammates. With Davis’ ability to process the game at a high level and play multiple positions, every team he plays for in the future will have the luxury of plugging him into any lineup.
Cleveland, OH
Arraignment for teen accused of murder at Cleveland deli
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The 17-year-old boy accused of a deadly shooting at a Cleveland deli, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Thursday.
Royal King was indicted on the charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, carrying concealed weapons, and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
King will continue being held on a $1 million bond at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Facility.
He will return to court on March 2 for a pre-trial.
King is accused of killing Jahari Stegall, 17, on Sept. 19, 2025 at the E. 185th Deli in the city’s Northshore Collinwood neighborhood.
PREVIOUS STORY: Teen identified after shooting death at Cleveland deli
King allegedly drove to the deli in a stolen car and walked through the aisles.
Security cameras then show Stegall walking through the parking lot.
King allegedly met Stegall at the door with a gun in his hand and shot him in the back of the head before fleeing the scene.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said Stegall was a good kid who barely knew King.
U.S. Marshals arrested King on Oct. 29, 2025 at home on E. 147th Street in Cleveland.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Cleveland, OH
Ohio EMA expanding traveler alert system
OHIO — The Ohio Emergency Management Agency, in partnership with the National Weather Service offices in Wilmington and Cleveland, is partnering with Lamar Advertising to help expand the Ohio Traveler Alert System to more parts of the state.
Ohio EMA said the system will soon include areas of greater Cleveland, Toledo and the Cincinnati Metropolitan area.
“Severe weather can make driving difficult and dangerous,” said Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. “By expanding the Ohio Traveler Alert System, our goal is to get critical weather alerts to more drivers in real-time.”
The system was launched in 2024 in the areas of Dayton and Columbus. If there’s severe weather, digital billboards display messages alerting travelers about certain conditions, such as high winds, snow squalls, ice and flooding.
“Collaborations like these are the backbone of community safety,” said Sima Merick, Ohio Emergency Management Agency executive director. “When we work together, we strengthen our ability to protect the people we serve. OTAS is a prime example of these partnerships.”
Ohio EMA said the communication and messaging on billboards is not only an effective way to communicate to Ohio residents but also to travelers who may not be familiar with the area.
Cleveland, OH
Iman Shumpert Claims Kyrie Irving Left The Cavaliers To Beat LeBron James
Former NBA guard Iman Shumpert played an important role in the Cavaliers securing their only championship in franchise history. He was there to help them win it all, and he was there to watch it fall apart when Kyrie Irving forced a trade to the Celtics in 2017. In a recent appearance on ‘Club Shay Shay,’ the former Cavs guard broke down what really pushed Irving out of Cleveland, and why he wasn’t surprised that he wanted to leave.
“Hell nah. Kyrie is a Kobe guy,” said Shumpert. “Kyrie wanted to beat LeBron, and that’s okay. People like to say ‘Oh, that was dumb’ because you’re a team-up kind of guy. That’s not Kyrie. Kyrie is like ‘The only way I can be crowned the best is if I beat the best. I got to go head-to-head with you; I can’t team up with you.”
It’s easy to forget now, but Irving was once the star of the show in Cleveland. In the years before LeBron’s arrival, he was the only hope for the Cavaliers and was treated like an MVP because of it. When LeBron arrived, all that changed, and it was something that Irving never fully accepted.
“Let’s say you got your momma’s crib. And then they just bring you a new brother,” Shumpert added. “Then your momma’s like ‘Well, you were the one to get the house key and do whatever you want, but now you don’t get to drive the car.’ For people not to understand that’s what happened, and then be like ‘Oh, he should have put his pride to the side.’ Why?”
Irving didn’t leave the Cavaliers because he hated LeBron. He left because he wanted to do his own thing and build his legacy outside No. 23’s shadow. As a longtime Kobe fan, he’s competitive at heart and would rather go against his competitors than join forces with them.
So while Irving made the most of his stint with James (one championship in three Finals appearances with the Cavs), he was never in it for the long haul. Playing alongside LeBron was something he never signed up for, even though he remains on good terms with the basketball legend today.
Shumpert Gets Real On Playing With LeBron
Irving ended his partnership with James early, and it’s something critics still talk about today. When people often forget, however, is that it’s not so easy to play with the King. Besides his enormous presence, he holds everyone accountable with his sky-high basketball IQ. In the end, however, it’s all for the best as he makes everyone better on the court.
“He is Chat GPT of the NBA,” said Shumpert on James. “This is the best way I could describe [him]. You can ask him anything, he knows. He knows the coaches, he knows the assistant coaches, he knows the player development coach. I don’t even have the mental capacity for all that sh*t. It took about a month for me to get used to him saying ‘X1, X2, X3, X4,’ he is really programmed for this. I never dealt with somebody who had the balls enough to look a coach in the eye and say, ‘I’m not running that.’”
James doesn’t just dominate with his physical skill and size. He uses his mind to get ahead of opponents and exploit their biggest flaws. With an unmatched mental game, James frequently outsmarts the enemy, and it’s the secret to his unprecedented NBA longevity.
In the end, Kyrie got to experience the best of both worlds. He played and won with LeBron James in the city where he was drafted. It taught him a lot and put his name in the history books. But Kyrie wanted more, and going out on his own was the best way to ensure he could play out his career on his own terms.
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