By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Managing Editor | Senior guard Josh Uduje (9) celebrates with sophomore guard Latrell Davis (5) during SJSU’s 107-100 overtime victory against Cal Poly on Dec. 14. (Photo by Denim Bragg – Freelance Photographer)
When Josh Uduje entered the transfer portal, Latrell Davis did everything he could to get him to come to San Jose State.
“When he made the decision to come here, I was so happy about it,” Davis said. “I didn’t think it would happen.”
Uduje was coming off winning the Mountain West Sixth Man of The Year award for his 2023-2024 season at Utah State. The Aggies had the best record in the Mountain West and made it to the second round of March Madness where they lost to No. 1 ranked Purdue 106-67.
The former Aggie was a big name in the portal but he chose to come to San Jose partly because head coach Tim Miles promised him an increased role. San Jose State was in Uduje’s top-three the year he committed to Utah State.
But Uduje’s decision to become a Spartan may have had some influence from a sales pitch by Davis himself.
“He showed me around downtown San Jose a little bit and I was sold ,” Uduje said. “He also reiterated what I already knew, that Miles was a really good coach and allowed his players to play.”
Uduje and Davis have a connection that dates back to when they were both young players in the United Kingdom. Davis is from Leeds, while Uduje is from London, just a three-and-a-half hour drive separates the two cities.
Uduje was establishing himself as a household name in England and Davis would come to watch a couple of his games.
Sophomore guard Latrell Davis (front) and senior guard Josh Uduje (back) do their own take on the infamous Dwayne Wade to LeBron James alley-oop photo at the end of SJSU men’s basketball practice. (photo by Christian Vieyra – Executive Editor)
One of Davis’ friends was playing with Uduje and he would make the trip to see them in action.
“(Uduje) went off that game,” Davis said. “In the second half he went crazy and they won the game.”
On his seventeenth birthday, Uduje played in the Men’s League Final in Manchester and received the game MVP award. Davis was in the crowd and the two took a picture after the game.
Then Davis began to make noise as an up-and-coming player and Uduje took notice.
“England basketball is a small, tight-knit community,” Uduje said. “All of the best players in the country are aware of each other.”
Davis even took a visit to one of Uduje’s games when he started his college career in Coastal Carolina. Uduje described it as a full-circle moment.
Once Davis got on a Division I team at SJSU, he would play against Uduje twice as he left Coastal Carolina to play at Mountain West counterpart Utah State.
“After we played (Utah State) he spoke to me and told me your time will come, to pray about it and keep doing you,” Davis said. “I just kept thinking about that in the back of my head.”
At the end of that season, Uduje would announce his commitment to SJSU. Davis and Uduje would finally be on the same team and the duo would get to work together for a whole season.
“He’s got a very good basketball I.Q, that’s helped me a lot,” Davis said. “I’m not saying I look up to him, but I look up to some of the characteristics he has.”
Davis’ would break out in the 2024-2025 season while playing alongside Uduje. Davis found a role as the Spartans sixth-man, providing some of the most electric minutes for the team off-the-bench.
Davis was third on the team in points-per-game averaging 11.1 while having the second-highest three-point percentage on the team with 38.3%.
“When you sub some starters out and you put a guy in thinking you’re going to get better offensively, that’s pretty exciting as a coach,” Miles said.
Davis scored 20 or more points seven times during the season. He solidified himself as a big time scoring threat in the Mountain West during his breakout season.
“Any time Latrell does well, I feel good,” Uduje said. “I see him as a little brother and whenever he’s succeeding I feel like I’m a part of that.”
Uduje was the leading scorer for the Spartans in the 2024-2025 season, averaging 16.4 points per game while having the highest field goal percentage on the team shooting 48.4%. His points per game total was sixth in the Mountain West.
On Jan. 14, SJSU pulled off its biggest upset of the season against New Mexico who were undefeated in conference at that point. The 71-70 win came off a buzzer-beater from Davis.
With the score 70-69 Uduje missed a layup off the rim. Then seemingly out of nowhere Davis cut to where the ball bounced, put up the shot and made it off the backboard with two seconds left, sealing an SJSU victory.
“No one thought we could do it,” Davis said. “We proved that we can really compete and we can do the unexpected.”
Sophomore guard Latrell Davis at the free throw line during SJSU’s 77-71 loss to UNLV on Feb. 25. (Photo by Abby Westrope – Spear Photographer)
The two were having great individual success, but they would combine to have the best joint-scoring performance in school history.
During SJSU’s 94-91 double-overtime victory over Fresno State on Feb. 4, Davis and Uduje would become the first players in SJSU school history to score 30-points each in the same game.
Davis hit six three’s in the game. Two of them helped send the game to overtime and double-overtime.
When SJSU defeated Fresno State 92-68 on Mar. 8, it became the first time since 2009 that the school completed a season sweep of its rival.
The duo also both had plays featured on SportsCenter Top 10 during the 2024-25 season.
Davis got featured for a half-court buzzer beater that he made during SJSU’s 89-65 win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 21, 2024 at the end of the first half. The play was featured at the number 10 slot.
“I was just saying to myself ‘it’s going in, it’s going in’” Davis said. “When I got it and heard the gym erupt and Josh ran up to me straight away, it was nice.”
Congrats @LatrellDavis35 for being the
— San Jose State Men’s Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) December 22, 2024play on SportsCenter last night
@espn #AllSpartans pic.twitter.com/Uv7ARZzoIl
Uduje would get his time to shine on SportsCenter when he dunked on New Mexico center Nelly Junior Joseph during SJSU’s 63-52 loss on Mar. 13 in the second round of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas. The play would be featured in the number eight slot.
“It was a dream come true, I’ve been waiting to get on SportsCenter since I was a freshman,” Uduje said.
At the time, this was thought to be a season-ending loss.
“My family was super supportive after the loss,” Uduje said. “They said ‘at least you got to go out with a bang, literally.’”
Congrats @JUduje on being the
— San Jose State Men’s Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) March 14, 2025play on SportsCenter last night
But, the duo would get one more chance to suit up together as SJSU would be named to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Not only that, but SJSU would get to host Loyola Chicago on Mar. 19, which marked the first time ever that SJSU hosted a postseason basketball game.
The crowd of 3,627 created an atmosphere that was loudest it has been all season. Uduje said the event center was “rocking” during a late game push by the Spartans.
With 2:25 left in the game Davis took a defender’s ankles and made a step-back 3-point shot to bring the game within five points. The crowd screamed at volumes that had not been heard at the Provident Credit Union Event Center this season.
SJSU would come up just short losing to Loyola Chicago 73-70 but the turnout showed promise for the future of the program.
SJSU’s 15 wins was its second highest total in the past 14 seasons. A feat that Uduje and Davis played a huge role in cultivating.
“We’ve seen what reality can be at San Jose State,” Miles said in the NIT post-game press conference. “Playing a high-level playoff game like this and competing our tails off till the very end is a great step forward.”
The end of the season also means the end for Uduje’s collegiate basketball career. Even though Uduje and Davis are no longer Spartans together, Uduje will continue to mentor him.
“He can’t get rid of me even if he wanted to,” Uduje said. “I’m going to continue to remind him to be present and be grateful for every game. He’s going to blossom into a great young player.”
