Colonials guard Janine Davis, who announced her intention to leave GW in March, will enroll at Siena for her junior year, the New York Post reports. The 5-foot-6 Davis will have to sit out a season, per NCAA regulations, but intends to play for Siena the following year.
Davis cited “issues with the coaching staff and team,” as a factor in her decision to leave GW, but didn’t provide any further details, and didn’t return requests to comment.
Women’s basketball head coach Mike Bozeman said that although her departure wasn’t “out of the blue”, it was “definitely a surprise” for him.
“It was a very tough decision to leave GW, but I know that everything happens for a reason and I will make the best out of my situation,” Davis told the Post. “I can’t wait to go to Siena and leave the past behind.”
The Queens, N.Y., native also said she wanted to be closer to home and originally intended to play at Division II Adelphi University. Those plans changed when assistant coach Dario Hernandez, also a Queens-native, left the Adelphi program.
“He was a major reason why I chose to go there and he was the one I was dealing with throughout the entire process,” Davis said.
Siena posted a 14-16 overall record last season, 11-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, under head coach Gina Castelli.
“When I went to visit the school, I got a good vibe, not only from the coaching staff, but also the players,” Davis said to the Post. “Even the staff who had no basketball affiliation were very welcoming. It seemed like a big family.”
Davis averaged 15.1 minutes per game for the Colonials last season, playing in 21 of the Colonials’ 29 games starting twice. As a freshman in 2009-2010, she played in all 28 of GW’s games and started 13 of them, and led the Colonials in assists as a freshman with 61.