Temple digest: WNBA hopeful Mia Davis goes unselected and Khalif Battle enters his name into NBA draft

Temple’s all-time leading scorer Mia Davis went undrafted in the 2022 WNBA draft held Monday in New York City.

The 6-foot forward was projected to be a late third-round selection, but players from schools like Florida, Indiana and LSU filled the late picks. While she was not drafted, Davis still could get a WNBA training camp invite or sign a contract to play overseas.

Davis declared for the draft on March 21 following Temple’s season-ending loss in the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament. The last few weeks have been filled with long hours in McGonigle Hall as she worked with former teammates and Temple’s strength and conditioning coach Tim Teefy.

“I’ve been focusing on myself,” Davis said. “Making sure I’m getting stronger by lifting, conditioning, doing skill work, and just trying to get into the best shape possible.”

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When Davis realized the Owls wouldn’t have a postseason, former teammate Emani Mayo helped plan a workout schedule to hold Davis accountable and prepare her for the WNBA combine, which was April 2 in Minneapolis.

“My day starts at 12 p.m., me and [Mayo] would go lift with Coach Teefy for 45 minutes to an hour,” Davis said. “Then after, we get on the court for maybe 35 minutes to do conditioning and do skill work for an hour and a half, then our day is done. We do that Monday through Friday.”

About 70 athletes attended the combine, which featured college seniors, free agents, and overseas professionals. The combine was an opportunity for Davis to be evaluated by WNBA coaches, general managers, and agents before the draft.

Davis used one word to describe the environment: “competitive.”

“We went around the whole day saying the word of the day is ‘compete,’” Davis said. “When we got on the floor, everyone was competing.”

During the event, players were split into teams and participated in a series of scrimmages. Brown assistant coach Ugo Nwaigwe, who helped facilitate the games, coached Davis’ team. She referred to Davis as an undersized post player who plays like she’s 7-foot-10.

“We went 7-0, and I know that’s not a big deal because it’s the WNBA combine,” Nwaigwe said. “But I think that’s a big deal we did not lose, and we had Davis, who was a complete dog that day. If they had given out an MVP award, I’m pretty sure she would have gotten it because everybody was just blown away with her performance, especially our team.”

Nwaigwe played at Temple for one season in 2015-16 after transferring from Wagner. She was a member of the Nigerian National Team from 2016-17 and played professionally from 2016-18 in Portugal, Angola, Argentina and Spain.

She said Davis led with her actions and was tough to guard in their time playing together. Davis’ presence was most felt in the paint, where she constantly grabbed offensive rebounds and finished around the rim.

“[Davis] has really good options if her WNBA dreams do not work out,” Nwaigwe said. “Which I do believe it will at least get her a training camp invite. But her basketball story isn’t done yet. It’s still being written.”

Davis, who averaged 18.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, was named to the All-American Athletic Conference first team. She also was a 2022 WBCA All-America honorable mention selection and a three-time Cheryl Miller Award finalist.

Although Davis could have declared for the draft last season, she wanted to use the extra year of eligibility to get in better shape as a senior. She used the time to develop as a rebounder and also felt her passion and leadership grow.

“I’m staying locked in,” Davis said. “Just keeping the focus on the focus, which is basketball, and surrounding myself with the people who want the same thing as me. Just staying around positive energy in my house.”

Khalif Battle announced on social media that he would enter his name in the 2022 NBA draft, which is scheduled for June 23 with the option to return to Temple.

Entering his name will give Battle the opportunity to work out in front of NBA scouts and meet with team personnel to receive feedback on his game. Deciding not to sign with an agent preserves the sophomore guard’s option to return to North Broad Street.

Battle missed 21 games this past season after undergoing surgery on the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. Temple’s consummate scorer averaged 21.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in seven appearances.

Former Owls Quinton Rose and Nate Pierre-Louis took similar routes, entering their names in the draft with the option of returning to college. Both recently completed G League seasons with the Westchester Knicks and South Bay Lakers, respectively.

Rose went through summer workouts in 2018 and 2019 before returning for his final season at Temple. Pierre-Louis had a similar plan in 2020 before signing an agent and forgoing his senior season.

Both had their names entered in the 2020 draft, a process marred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It could help being in front of a lot of scouts because what I do really well is defend and rebound,” Pierre-Louis told the Inquirer in a 2020 phone interview. “Which you can’t really show through a workout or virtually.”

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Battle won’t face the same pandemic-related challenges but similarly will put together a workout plan in preparation of the predraft process to show his worth.

His older brother, Tyus, did the same thing in 2018 before returning to Syracuse that fall. He signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves the following year as an undrafted free agent but never played in the NBA.

“If I’m blessed enough,” Battle said, “I want to be the first in my family to go to the NBA.”