Austin Davis stood before the Onsted basketball team a couple of weeks ago, stressing the importance of staying ready and never giving up.

All eyes were on him, all ears accepting as gospel what the former Onsted star uttered. If you couldn’t believe him on this topic, who could you believe?

Davis transformed this year from a Michigan roster afterthought for three seasons to an active contributor in what could have been his final campaign in maize and blue. On Senior Night Thursday against Nebraska, he didn’t hoist a framed jersey along with seniors Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson, with whom he entered Michigan.

Instead, Davis proudly looked on, a fifth-year promise tucked in his back pocket. He put a comforting arm around a weeping Teske.

“That was a powerful moment,” Davis acknowledged. “Jon, X and I came in together, four years ago. We’ve made a ton of memories together. I couldn’t ask for two better guys to have shared these four years with. They’ve both had tremendous careers here and have left legacies that will be remembered forever.”

Davis is leaving his own legacy. Don’t quit. Never give up. Fight back.

He’s done so well enough that delight dripped from head coach Juwan Howard’s voice when he announced Davis’ return for a fifth year, a day before senior night.

“I gave him the news, and he was super excited,” Howard recalled. “Just to see the smile on his face … he gave me three hugs. He held me tight, too. That made me know, just from those hugs, that was the feeling of a guy who is really excited about coming back and being a student-athlete at the University of Michigan.”

“I love Michigan,” Davis declared. This is an incredible place, an incredible university. My teammates are incredible people. Those in the basketball department are phenomenal individuals. I’m just fortunate I get to be around them for another year.”

For much of this season, that return remained in doubt. When he stood before the seniors and juniors at his old high school and spoke of standing firm, the hugs-worthy word from Howard hadn’t arrived.

Onsted rests near the Irish Hills, some 40 minutes southwest of Ann Arbor. It hovers around 1,000 residents, depending upon the births of the month and breakaway moves to the big cities of Tecumseh and Adrian.

So when an alum who calls Crisler Center home has something to say, locals listen.

“We had lost a couple of games, so I asked him to speak,” noted Brad Maska, Onsted’s head coach. “He talked about trying to stay ready at any time.”

Davis isn’t verbose, Maska noted. When he does weigh in, it’s worth a listen.

“He talked about the brotherhood, and how there are going to be times when you have to stay the course and keep believing in what you can do, believe in your teammates, and believe that the opportunity will come if you continue to work hard,” Maska recalled. “That’s the mindset our kids took out of that.

“It’s not easy. The road to success is not always an easy one, and if you just stay the course, you’ll find success at some point. He’s a perfect example of that.”

For three years, many wondered if Davis was an example of a small-school kid whose dreams overreached his grasp, even at 6-10.

He redshirted as a true freshman under John Beilein. He averaged 3.1 minutes per game his second year, and 3.7 last season. Beilein spoke of the practice flashes he showed, but it appeared the pace proved too fast and the stage too big.

“There’s definitely been some discouraging times,” Davis admitted. “But my teammates have been extremely supportive. I’ve relied on them to keep my spirits up. They’ve gotten me through a lot. A lot of credit has to go to them, and my family as well.”

Smiles abound on game day at the Davis household this year. Howard’s appreciation for a back-to-the-basket big man certainly didn’t hurt. But the fourth-year Wolverine has asserted himself in many ways.

He scored eight with three rebounds in a home win over Iowa. He’s averaging 5.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and double-digit minutes, many of them with games hanging in the balance. And he’s coming back amid a flood of young talent in Howard’s first recruiting class.

Excited? You could say so. Not just him. The whole town.

“When he was a sophomore, he was about 270 pounds,” Maska recalled. “He was a big kid. When Coach Beilein started getting some guys out there recruiting him, he needed to change, lose some weight and get to a point where he could play at the next level.

“He did it. He went on this monster diet, lost all this weight. Seeing the transformation in his body and the hard work he put in to change to play at the next level is one of the neatest stories I’ve seen with a young man.”

The body transformation only marked step one, though.

“It was a struggle,” Maska said. “He had those hard times, but he never, never considered transferring. All the things were out there, about him leaving. He never once thought about leaving, ever.

“He wanted to be at Michigan. He is the epitome of a student-athlete. He’s done what he needs to do academically. He left here with a 4.0. He’s over 3.5 up there. He loves Michigan, and he was going to do what he needed to do, whether he got on the court or not.”

His academic work left Davis in position to pursue a Master’s in movement science, beginning next year. He hopes it eventually turns into the pursuit of a career in physical therapy.

Nobody back home bets against him. And Davis remains who he is — humble, grateful, and feeling blessed to have come across first Beilein, and now Howard.

“Coach B. is a great guy,” Davis said. “He supported and cared for each one of us. He brought me here, and I’m very thankful for that. He took a chance on a big, slow guy from a little country town that really wasn’t known for basketball.”

That little country town — and the little-to-big kids in it — will be watching tournament time with the intensity of the fictional Hickory, Ind., Norman Dale and Jimmy Chitwood leading the charge.

“I teach in the elementary, and all of these kids know exactly who he is,” Maska said. “He’s around here a lot. The community support has been tremendous. I try to use Austin as much as possible — bringing him back to talk to our guys. He’s that role model.

“This happening to him this year couldn’t happen to a better kid. It couldn’t be a better opportunity for me as a high school coach to show these kids, success is not something that’s going to happen the next day, for some of you. Sometimes, it takes a little while.

“What better story is that? A kid from Lenawee County, being able to contribute to a Big Ten program like Michigan.”

“I love it,” Davis said. “That community has done so much for me. Everybody there has had a hand in shaping me.”

He’s shaping others, helping them not pack away their own dreams too soon. That’s worth the price of admission, and another season in maize and blue.

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