Colorado Buffaloes Hall of Famer Jim Davis dead at 77

Former Colorado Buffaloes Hall of Fame center Jim Davis passed away on Dec. 27 after battling cancer. He was 77.

Davis, a member of CU basketball’s back-to-back Big Eight championship teams in the early 1960’s, averaged a double-double during those years along with 14.4 points and 11.2 rebounds during his career with the Buffs. At the time he left Boulder, the 6-foot-9 All-Conference big man was CU’s all-time leading rebounder (836) and third in scoring (1,110 points). Davis was the fourth African-American basketball player in Colorado history.

Colorado made two straight Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament behind Davis in 1962 and 1963, but lost top ranked Cincinnati both years. The Buffs finished in the top ten each of those seasons. Davis was a fourth round selection (27th overall) by the Detroit Pistons in the 1964 NBA Draft. He was waived before the start of the season, but eventually signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Hawks. Davis played eight seasons in the NBA, helping the Hawks to a 48-34 record and first place in the NBA West Division in 1969-70. He would retire from the league in 1971 after being traded to Detroit.

Davis was inducted into CU’s Hall of Fame in 2014 and was the school’s selection for the Pac-12 Hall of Fame in 2015. After his days in the NBA, he retired to Windsor, Ontario in Canada.