When Davion Warren completed his senior season of basketball at Bishop Timon-St. Jude two years ago, the Monsignor Martin Player of the Year and All-Western New York first-team selection had no scholarship offers from a Division I program.
The only offers the 6-foot-5 double-double machine for the Tigers received were from local Division II program Daemen College and Olney Central -- a Division I junior college in Illinois.
No disrespect to Daemen, Warren opted to sign with the junior college in the middle of nowhere, convinced he'd prove he was worthy of a Division I offer from a four-year school.
The gamble paid off as Warren announced Thursday on social media he accepted a scholarship from Hampton University. Warren, a guard who signed his letter of intent Friday during a ceremony at Health Sciences before family, friends and AAU coaches Tyree Parker and Des Randall, selected the school in Virginia over offers from Niagara, South Dakota and Division II Indianapolis.
"I always knew I could play the game of basketball," Warren told The News on Friday. "Dreams are starting to come true for me. ... It's just a great opportunity. I pretty much worked for it."
Warren averaged 14 points and 7.0 rebounds last season in helping Olney post a 25-6 record. As a freshman, he averaged 10.0 and 6.0 in helping the team go 21-10. Olney was 14-19 the season prior to his arrival.
Randall coached Warren for years at AAU and for two seasons at Timon. Though this is the sixth player to come through the Corey Graham Elite AAU program to earn a Division I basketball scholarship the past seven years, it's the first for Randall as a head coach.
"It's all due to the work and determination he put in," Randall said. "It's really a fulfilling feeling for me to watch him as he signs his letter of intent."
Warren averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds per game as a senior with Timon.
Hampton made the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2016 as the representative from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Pirates moved last season to the Big South Conference, which last year was won by Radford.
Others who have played with Corey Graham Elite AAU program for Parker and Randall include Tennessee-bound Davonte Gaines and Middle Tennessee State point guard Jayce Johnson.
"This is huge for our program because Davion is another example of a young kid from the inner city who had to put the work in academically and athletically (to get noticed)," said Parker, program director for Corey Graham Elite. "He's an example that if you follow the blueprint you could position yourself for an athletic scholarship. ... You can put yourself in a position to play the sport you love and go to college for free."