Four-star recruit Davis Fogle had a lot on his mind as he boarded for a short flight from Spokane to his home in Anacortes, Washington, a town of 18,000 on Fidalgo Island and about a 90-minute drive north of Seattle.
Fogle was cross-state on an official visit with the Gonzaga men’s basketball program, a trip that coincided with Hoopfest weekend as well. As the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament raged on in the streets downtown, the 6-foot-7 wing was meeting with Mark Few and the coaching staff on campus. Fogle knew of the program’s track record of success and its pattern of developing NBA players in recent years, which was hammered home when he saw the slew of jerseys hung all throughout the lower tunnels of the McCarthey Athletic Center.
“I wanted [to go to college] somewhere that could turn me into an NBA player,” Fogle said. “I wanted to be somewhere where we're going to be a good team, we're going to have a winning culture … somewhere I'm wanted, I'm needed and [there’s a plan for me].”
Gonzaga’s coaching staff had seen Fogle at a high school team camp held on its campus last summer, though recruiting didn’t heat up until the following weekend at an Under Armour-sponsored AAU event in Atlanta, Georgia. Fogle said the coaches enjoyed watching him play, and from there, a relationship was built. Heading into his official visit, he listed Gonzaga in his final three schools with Creighton and Kansas.
The Bulldogs presented a plan to Fogle that was based around what worked for Corey Kispert and Julian Strawther, two players who blossomed into first-round picks after years of refining and adding to their craft in college. Travis Knight, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, educated Fogle on the different strengths required for players on the court and in the weight room. Fogle knew of the program’s reputation of developing highly-touted recruits into pros over the course of three, four or sometimes even five seasons if needed.
As he talked with his parents on the 45-minute flight home, he came to a realization.
“Everything that I want in the school and a basketball program, Gonzaga checks every box,” Fogle said. “I was really just thinking about it … I don't know what's gonna top Gonzaga. That’s what kind of just made the decision for me.”
In about a year or so, Bulldogs fans will soon learn quickly why Fogle was the No. 1 ranked recruit in Washington. He can knock down the midrange pull-up. He has the athleticism to play above the rim and have an impact defensively, from guarding multiple positions to ripping down rebounds over opponents. Fogle isn’t afraid of taking big-time shots either, according to his Seattle AAU coach Chase Young, who coached Fogle since he was in the fifth grade.
While his toolkit on the court stands out, Fogle’s ascension into a four-star recruit and top-50 player in his recruiting class isn’t without a determined work ethic that complements a laid-back attitude off the court.
“He has a true mamba mentality,” Young said. “He's a lot like Kobe in terms of how hard he practices, having a chip on his shoulder, always going hard in practices and games, holding teammates accountable. He goes hard at everything he does.”
Fogle, a rising senior, averaged 31.4 points in 29 games as a junior at Anacortes High School, which advanced to the 2A state quarterfinals this past season. As a sophom*ore, he earned Northwest Conference Player of the Year honors. By that time he had been recognized as a top-80 recruit, but in reality, he was just getting started.
Young knew Fogle was going to be a special player from when he first saw him as a fifth grader. The Fogle family had just moved to Anacortes from Kodiak, Alaska, where Davis’ mom Amy was a high school coach and his dad a commercial fisherman. Amy played at Southern Illinois University and held the school’s all-time scoring and rebounding records before having a short professional career in Japan.
Throughout Fogle’s time playing AAU, not only did he play up a grade level in competition, but his opponent seemingly did everything it could to slow him down. Double-teams, box-and-ones, face-guarding, any defensive scheme thinkable that could potentially wear down Fogle was thrown his way.
“Everywhere we've gone, they've always had their best defender, biggest, strongest guy all over him,” Young said. “And he still finds ways to be successful. He likes it when guys are getting in his grill, trying to take him out of the game.”
That said, it didn’t come as a shock when Fogle announced he was transferring to AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona, for his senior year. Before he makes the move to Spokane, Fogle will compete against some of the best high school players in the country on a prep team that has produced three NBA players and an abundance of Division-I talent.
For Fogle, he sees the step-up in competition and the rigorous workout schedules as preparation for what his life might look like in college.
“Every single day, I'm getting tons of workouts in,” Fogle said. “I’m playing with guys that are gonna play college basketball as well as me and have the same goals to me.”
Before Fogle officially makes the move to Arizona, he’s heading down to Atlanta for an Under Armour Circuit, the same AAU event where he first developed a rapport with Gonzaga’s coaches. Over the next year, he hopes to build strength in preparation for his freshman year as a Bulldog.
“He’s different off the court,” Young said of Fogle. “He's not that same intense, in-your-face kid at all. He's more reserved, he's much more humble, he's kind, he's articulate and he's very positive. He's not that alpha male in his social group, he's just one of the guys.”
