THE ET CETERA CHRONICLES - BRONDA DAVIS

LOS ANGELES - Before she made the U.S. Olympic Festival roster, Georgia Tech's Bronda Davis had a better reputation for making up rap songs than for playing basketball.

From "Lady Jackets Ain't No Joke": This is BD, as you can see. Oh yeah, it is me. I shoot the jumper, drive baseline. If you let me, I'll do it every time. But what I like most is really my assists. The more I make the longer the list."

Davis's stats, however, didn't measure up to her lyrics. The 5-foot- 8 guard from Dublin, Ga., who will be a junior next season, played sparingly in 21 games as a sophomore, averaging 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

"I was kind of disappointed I sat on the bench," she said. "When I played, it was only two or three minutes."

The festival, she said, has "opened some doors as far as getting some respect from my teammates and it's made me believe in myself a little more."

Davis was one of four Tech players who tried out for the festival, including Carmen Davis (no relation), who starts ahead of Bronda at Tech -  but the only one selected. And, she said, "I was like the last player off the bench." Actually, next-to-last.

Sunday at Pauley Pavilion, Davis started for the South team and scored four points in 14 minutes in a 67-59 loss to the North, coached by Georgia coach Andy Landers.

Davis stepped into the starter's role when Nicole Collins of Louisiana Tech injured a knee Saturday night.
Tech coach Agnus Berenato, who is a spectator here, admires Davis for the way she dedicated herself to making the festival team.
Berenato said Davis's work ethic, previously a sore point, improved tremendously. Davis quit the Tech softball team and applied herself to weight training and basketball practice.

"She has matured, and the maturity has really set in," Berenato said.

Davis knows she can't fall back on her old habits.

"I'd get down because I make mistakes," she said. "I have to keep my head and shake it off."

Davis, who has made the Dean's List in management, grew up playing basketball with her older brother in the backyard. In high school, she was known as Magic, for her idol Magic Johnson.
Maybe now the magic is coming back.

July 15, 1991, AJC By Karen Rosen Staff writer

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