Fifth year forward Kennedy “KD” Davis had a plan coming to Eastern to use her last two years of eligibility. 

Prior to transferring, Davis played four years at Tennessee State University, officially coming to Eastern over the summer and immediately connecting with the team, she said.  

“Shoot, you would have thought she was on the team for two plus years or something,” head women’s basketball coach Marqus McGlothan said.  

On June 16, 2024, Davis and a couple of teammates were casually playing a five versus five. As she was leaning forward to go for a steal in the passing lane, she felt a pop in her left Achilles.  

Davis initially thought someone stepped on the back of her Achilles and started questioning her teammates that were around her.  

“I’m looking at them and I’m like, ‘One of y’all stepped on my ankle, didn’t y’all?’” Davis said. “And they’re looking at me and they’re like, ‘KD, no one was around you.’” 

Slightly panicking, the team was trying to figure out what went wrong, Davis said. 

They soon called their trainer who tried to help over the phone but encouraged them to take her to the emergency room.  

“I’m like, ‘Hold up, this is something serious,’” Davis said. “The trainer says, ‘I think you should go to the ER,’ and I just started bawling my eyes out. Everyone’s looking at me, and even though no one wants to say it, we were all kind of like, ‘This isn’t good.’” 

McGlothan met Davis and the team at the hospital, she said, where the doctor then confirmed Davis had completely ruptured her Achilles.  

In the many years Davis had played basketball, she had never had a major injury before this. 

That was Davis’ welcome to Eastern. An Achilles injury. 

Her first weekend in Charleston was spent in the hospital. 

“If I didn’t have the family I had or the team that I have, I definitely probably would have been in a really, really bad mental head space because it was tough,” Davis said. “It’s like one of those things where you don’t realize how good you have it until it’s gone.” 

There was a quick turn around, as she had surgery June 22, 2024. 

Never going through an injury, especially this severe, Davis didn’t know what to expect. Everyday was a battle mentally, physically and emotionally, she said. 

Coming to Eastern, Davis said she felt like she was getting a fresh start, but having this injury felt like taking two steps forward to take three steps back.  

Having to invest in a shower chair because she wasn’t able to get her leg wet or wash it for two months to having to invest in a scooter because crutching around was exhausting, Davis said. 

The women’s basketball team was critical for Davis’ recovery, she said, despite only knowing her for less than a month.  

“They got me ice cream,” Davis said. “They got me my favorite food, which is chicken Alfredo, they got me my favorite chips, they got me all these little things that they found out about me in such a short amount of time. Everyone just stopped everything just to help me and to support me, to make me feel like [I’m] not alone.” 

One of Davis’ roommates and teammate, fifth year forward Jayda Johnston, is a registered nurse. Johnston was in charge of her medication and making sure her leg was in the right position, Davis said. 

Another roommate and teammate to Davis, senior guard Alex Rouse, said Johnston was a big help for Davis’ recovery. 

“We didn’t want her moving around a lot,” Rouse said. “Our other roommate is a nurse. So she did all the medicine and if she needed her pillow readjusted or whatever under her foot. We would try to make sure she’s not by herself.” 

With Johnston’s experience, Davis said she was able to get the help she needed while in her apartment.  

This was a difficult time for Davis, and the team didn’t want her by herself or moving a lot, Davis said. If that meant the team would be over at her apartment chilling with her and eating food, they would be there.  

The team wanted Davis to feel included, she said, so if that meant they were carrying her on their backs because the scooter couldn’t come through, they did just that. 

Davis stayed on top of her physical therapy and took her medicines at first, but going to physical therapy slowly stopped as her mental health dropped. 

“I’ve had a lot of seasons with [depression] thus far in this journey, in this process of like, just feeling like, ‘OK, I just want to go to sleep,’” Davis said.  

Davis said there were many times where she felt like she didn’t really want to do anything or didn’t really want to be around anyone. 

“It’s hard. Having injuries like that really strips you of who you are,” Davis said. 

At the end of the day, the team’s main focus was Davis, but Davis said her main focus was the team. 

Davis said she is taking this time to grow and develop, but she is also taking the time to process and be more consistent in every aspect of her life.  

“I will start making the bounds of my process that I should be,” Davis said. “And that’s just not just even talking about the rehab, but the basketball side, the personal side, the spiritual side, just everything. I just need to be consistent with all that I do.” 

“If I’m not doing the things that I need to do in my process to come back and meet the marks that I need to in my process or with my recovery, I can’t be the teammate that I need to be for next year,” Davis said. 

Right now, all Davis wants to do is grow personally and professionally.  

She said she is taking this season to learn different techniques from her teammates.  

“My teammates who I know are better in this area, I’ve already told them, ‘Once I’m back, I want to work out with you. I want to work on this with you because just watching, you’re really good at this, and I can learn from that,’” Davis said. 

During games, Davis is watching and helping the team look at a different perspective that they might not be seeing. If there is a move that a player should do, Davis is right there telling them. 

“I guess I have taken part of a student coaching role,” Davis said. “I kind of just take on whatever role is needed. I feel like if the managers are doing something, and I know there are teammates that their bottles are empty or something like that, I’ll go fill them up. Really taking on that teammate role, but just without being on the court with them, but being there for them, almost like a sister.” 

When Davis isn’t working and learning from her teammates, she is one of the loudest players on the sidelines.  

But during practice, things are a little more lighthearted. 

“On the practice side, I’m the DJ,” Davis said. “I try to get them as turnt and lit as possible.” 

When Davis is with the team, she said she tries to give them energy, starting friendly banter during practice scrimmages and hyping up the team.  

In her downtime, Davis said she is working with her coaches to better improve her play for next year. She said she would sit with her individual coach in the office and work plays. 

“We have this playbook where it has like magnets so you can move everything around, working on plays making sure that I still know what’s going on on the court.” Davis said. “I’m still working on everything, really building things from the ground up, making me feel like this is my first time playing basketball.” 

Since Davis is the one of the oldest on the team, Davis’ teammates said they look up to her. 

“She brings a sense of maturity, experience and then her being vocal,” Johnston said. “Since she can’t play, she’s not letting her injury define her and what she’s capable of doing for the team. She’s still making an impact on the bench.” 

Her positivity helped not just her grow but her teammates too. 

“People, teammates and some coaches have even told me that being as positive as I have been during my process has helped them out in a certain way,” Davis said. “It’s funny because it’s like I wouldn’t be as positive as I am if y’all didn’t feed that positivity to me and give me that energy, that love, that respect and that appreciation.”  

McGlothan said Davis is a special kind of player. 

“I haven’t encountered anybody that has such a kind soul like her,” McGlothan said. “She’s fiery, she’s passionate, so she impacts the team off the court as well.” 

Payton Liggins can be reached at 581-2812 or at paliggins@eiu.edu.