media because of its lower level of competition. Perspectives is a charter school that operates as a math and science academy; it has a strong academic reputation, but minimal athletic success. The school had no gymnasium and Davis' middle school basketball teams practiced at the nearby Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago's historic South Loop District. In junior high school, he was known as "the little guy who would shoot threes from the corner". He ended his freshman year at a height of . By the beginning of his sophomore year, he had grown another , and he finished the year at . Davis began his junior basketball season at , saying he felt fortunate to have had such a rapid growth spurt without any knee pains. During his junior year, his family considered having him transfer to one of Chicago's basketball powerhouses, but Hyde Park Career Academy head coach Donnie Kirksey advised against it, saying "If you're good enough, they'll find you wherever you are". Perspectives finished the season 8–15. Although he remained unnoticed nationally and locally after three seasons of Chicago Public League play, he was soon thereafter rated as the number one player in the class of 2011 by Scout.com and was listed in the ESPNU 100. Attention came when he started playing on Tai Streets' Meanstreets (AAU team) traveling system in the spring of his junior year. In late April, Syracuse University offered him a scholarship. That spring, NBA Top 100 Camp Director Dave Telep invited him to the camp based on his dominant first half performance of the first game of the Fort Wayne, Indiana Spiece Fieldhouse event. In August 2010, Davis played in the Nike Global Challenge in Hillsboro, Oregon. In the opening game, he had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Davis verbally committed to Kentucky on August 13, 2010, choosing it over DePaul, Ohio State, and Syracuse. On August 24, 2010, he became the number one rated player in the national class of 2011 at Scout.com. Before Davis committed to Kentucky, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that his father had asked Kentucky for $200,000 in exchange for a commitment from Davis. The report was initially released on Wednesday August 4, 2010 by Sun-Times reporter Michael O'Brien. Citing "a reliable source", he posted the following text: "Rumors/sources that have Davis choosing Kentucky are also alleging that the commitment cost $200,000." The sentence was later edited to