In the heart of Windsor, Ontario, Canada these days, former Wayne State University point guard and Ypsilanti native Latin Davis, Jr. has been the floor general for the Windsor Express, a Canadian professional basketball team steaming toward an international championship through the Basketball Super League (BSL). Standing between the Express and the Championship is Canada’s Sudbury Five. The two basketball teams are tied 1-1 in the best of five series.
With game three (Wednesday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m.) and game four (Friday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m.) played at Windsor’s WTCU, the Express wants to wrap up the championship at home. If a game five is necessary, it will be played in Sudbury, a northern Ontario city approximately 475 miles from Windsor.
“We want to take care of business on our homecourt,” said Davis. “We don’t want to go back to Sudbury, so we just need to win the next two games and the BSL championship will belong to the Windsor Express. We want to end this here in front of our incredible fans.”
Davis doesn’t want to take anything for granted, as he and his Express teammates know the Sudbury Five is a good team and will give its best to win the series in Windsor.
“We will be prepared for the games,” Davis said. “We want to come out with energy and play the style of ball that has gotten us to the Basketball Super League Championship Series.”
Davis, a 6-foot point guard, is described as a savvy floor leader and player capable of making good decisions on the court, giving the Express what it needs to be successful throughout the game, whether it’s finding the open man for a shot or taking the big shot himself.
For the 2024 -2025 “regular season,” Davis’s international basketball stats were 20.5 points per game, 6.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.2 steals. His field goal percentage was 48.2%, while shooting 35.9% from three-point range.
Growing up in Ypsilanti, Davis, who graduated from Milan High School in Milan, Michigan admired the basketball skills and footwork of NBA players, such as Kobe Bryant, Allan Iverson, Kyrie Irving, and others. At Wayne State, Davis was a force to reckoned with. According to Wayne State’s Men’s Basketball official website, Davis scored in double
figures 34 times with seven 20-point games. At a game against Saginaw Valley State in January 2019, Davis scored a career high 31 points.
After graduating from Wayne States in 2019, Davis wanted to play overseas in Europe, but in the meantime worked on his game in Las Vegas and later played for the Lansing Pharaohs in The Basketball League (TBL). With the COVID pandemic altering professional basketball around the world beginning in 2020, in 2022, Davis decided to halt looking for opportunities to “play overseas” in Europe, instead choosing to play “over the river” in Windsor, Canada. Davis was not alone, as other players in America opted to play in professional basketball in Canada versus in Europe in a changing political climate.
Formed in 2012, the Windsor Express was one of the premier Canadian professional basketball teams, having won two championships under the banner of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC). When several Canadian teams left the NBLC in 2023 to join the Basketball Super League, the Express, through its owner, native Detroiter Dartis Willis, soon followed.
“Playing in Windsor, Canada made a lot of sense for me for a lot of reasons,” Davis said. “It allowed me to be close to my girlfriend and my little daughter because they could come to home games and watch me play. And it allowed other family members in southeast Michigan to cross the river to watch me play.”
Davis likes the level of competition that Windsor Express play.
“The level of competition in Canada is better than what many people think,” said Davis. “Some people thought the competition in Canada wasn’t that good, but it is fierce and very competitive. A lot of guys have come from the G-League and Euro League.”
In the last week of December 2024, the Basketball Super League named Davis the Player of the week for his stellar performances in back-to-back games: Against the KW Titans, he posted 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, followed by a game against the Glass City Wrangles, scoring 23 points, with 6 rebounds, and handed out 11 assists.
“I’m not surprised that Latin received Player of the Week honors,” said Express head coach and VP of Basketball Operations Bill Jones. “His game and his leadership have been tremendous. He’s one oof the hardest working guys on the team, and it’s showing up in his play.”
Since January 2025, there has been some levels of tension between Canada and the United States over talks of tariffs and other matters. Yet, for Davis, who lives in Metro Detroit and travels to Windsor frequently for the last three years, he loves playing for the Windsor Express.
“I haven’t had any issues with Canada or its people,” said Davis. “The people in Windsor are so nice and they love the team and its players. We love them and love playing for their professional basketball team. I can honestly say that for the three years that I have been playing in Canada, the people genuinely have welcomed me. We, as players, coaches, and the team owner, Dartis Willis, want to win this BSL Championship for the people of Windsor and the Express players who have roots in Canada and the United States, mainly Metro Detroit.”
“Latin Davis is a remarkable young man and a remarkable basketball player,” said Willis. “He’s a winner, like the other players and coaches on the Windsor Express, many of which have Metro Detroit roots or roots in other American cities. Winning the BSL would be huge for the cities of Windsor and Detroit and for bridging the two countries to remain in harmony through pro basketball.”
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