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He knew exactly what awaited him when he pressed the play button -- message after message from college basketball coaches, all inquiring about Starmount basketball phenom Victor Davila.
"Every night, there were maybe five or 10 coaches saying, 'Call me back,'" said Livengood, who is Davila's legal guardian. "They all wanted to talk to Victor. And there's no telling how many letters he's gotten. I saved them all and put them in a box so he can show his grandkids.
"It really got kind of overwhelming."
Those calls and letters should cease now, or at least calm down to a minimum.
Of all the suitors on Davila's basketball recruiting trail the past few years, Virginia Tech finally won out for his services. Davila gave a verbal commitment to Hokies coach Seth Greenberg late last week and made his announcement public on Monday.
He's the first commitment of Virginia Tech's hoops class of 2008. When he signs his official Letter of Intent, which can happen as early as November, he'll be the first Starmount basketball player in the 40-year history of the school to ink with an ACC program.
"The first time I went to visit, I just loved it up there," Davila said Tuesday evening, taking a break from watching a Starmount volleyball match. "I feel like I'm going to fit in there ... And, playing in the ACC -- I really like that."
Livengood estimates that between 35-40 college programs made a hard push to land Davila since he came to Yadkin County from Puerto Rico four years ago. He had full-ride offers from 12 of those schools coming out of a junior season in which he led the Rams to the Class 2A state championship game.
Over the summer, Davila narrowed his list down to five -- Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Charlotte, Appalachian State and Iowa State. He wanted to make his final choice before the 2007-08 season started and expressed relief this week at getting the announcement out of the way.
"(Recruiting) was fun at first, but I just wanted to get it done," Davila said. "I want to enjoy my senior year of high school."
Davila is currently listed at No. 136 in Rivals.com's Top 150 players in the nation. The 6-8, 235-pounder is ranked as one of the top senior prospects in all of North Carolina, especially among public school players.
Davila's stock has been on the rise since ninth grade and likely spiked during his junior season. He finished the 2006-07 campaign averaging 23 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest. He earned a triple-double (15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks) in the state semifinals against Shelby, punctuating that win with a game-winning dunk in the final seconds of double overtime.
In the state title game against Burlington Cummings, Davila finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks. He had a 24 points, eight rebounds, six dunks and six blocks in another playoff game against West Henderson.
Davila could see the floor early in his career at Virginia Tech. The Hokies will have holes to fill after this season in their front court.
"Coach Greenberg told Victor, 'All schools want you, but we desperately need you,'" Livengood said. "They are looking for him to come in and fill the power forward spot and play as a freshman. That's important to Victor. He's a competitor. He wants to play."
Davila's skills around the basket are well-documented. He held his own against top-notch competition last season, including outdueling Miami signee Julian Gamble (Southern Durham) in a Christmas tournament game at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum. Most recruiting experts agree that Davila will need to expand his game to the perimeter to be fully effective at the college level.
"From just seeing him a little bit, he looks like he's improved his jump shot, the 10- to 15-footers," said new Starmount head coach Wayne Motsinger, who was hired over the summer. "That's what he needs to do, get his shooting out away from the basket."
An ankle injury slowed Davila's summer plans. He chipped a bone and tore a ligament in his ankle, keeping him off the court for several weeks. But he was cleared to play again about four weeks ago and has participated at full speed in recent open gym times at Starmount.
Livengood believes it was divine intervention that helped bring Davila to Starmount. An AAU coach from Puerto Rico was looking to help several of his players find better opportunities, both educationally and athletically, by linking them up with high schools in the United States. Through several connections, Livengood and his wife were invited to serve as guardians for Davila so he could attend Starmount.
"We talked about it, and said, 'We've got a home. We'll take him," Livengood said. "We had never seen Victor until we went to the airport and picked him up in Charlotte. He wasn't hard to spot."
Davila has been at home in Yadkin County and at the Boonville school ever since. Rumors have swirled numerous times that he might transfer to Oak Hill or a bigger public school, but he's been content to be a Starmount man.
He's certainly helped raise the Rams' basketball profile in the area and across the state. Starmount was invited to play in a prestigious holiday tournament at NC State this past Christmas. All three Starmount-North Surry games last winter were played in front of standing-room-only crowds. The Rams took thousands of supporters to Wake Forest and Chapel Hill during its playoff run.
A who's-who of college coaches and assistants have visited Starmount's gym at some point to make their pitch and see Davila in action.
"We'd be at basketball practice and Coach (Joe) Holladay from Carolina would come wheeling in with that $100,000 Mercedes and big rings," Starmount assistant coach Brad Doss said. "Clemson would come walking in. That night we played Oak Hill, Dave Telep (Scout.com recruiting guru) was here, Tommy Amaker, Coach Greenberg, Skip Prosser, Appalachian State.
"In away games, we've had Miami to show up. Even a couple of weeks ago, Iowa State just shows up. That's pretty awesome."
Davila's big breakthrough as a player came against Maiden in the playoffs his freshman year.
"It was a tight game, and they were wearing him out," Doss said. "That was probably the first time we ever scolded him good. But after that, he came out and had like six dunks in that game. That's when it started. He's progressed so much, and not just in basketball."
Though he plays with monstrous force during a game, Davila is described by most as just one of the guys off the court. He isn't someone you'll find going around bragging about being one of the top prep prospects in the country.
"He's well-liked," Motsinger said. "He's very humble. He's not boisterous or anything of that nature. He's a fine young man, who listens well. I know he'll be very coachable."
Even Davila's college announcement was pretty unassuming. There were no major press conferences or made-for-media spectacles like you see with other notable prep players.
Interestingly, a Web site that covers Charlotte 49ers recruiting was among the first to break the story of Davila's commitment on Monday. News traveled fast as soon as Davila started canceling official visits he had set up to the other favorites on his list.
That's usually a sure-tell sign that the player has made up his mind.
"We called the other schools out of respect for them," Livengood said. "We've met a lot of good people, and everyone has been real professional. We even got a note from Appalachian State saying, 'Good luck, Victor and we enjoyed this.' I thought that was pretty classy.
"Other schools were wishing him the best, too."
Many area fans had hoped Davila would end up at Wake Forest, just a 30-minute drive or so from Starmount. The Demon Deacons courted Davila for a couple of years, and Livengood said he considered the late Coach Prosser, who died unexpectedly over the summer, as a good friend.
"He'd call the house and say, 'Hey Donnie, this is Skip. Tell that ol' big boy hey and to give me a call," Livengood remembered. "We visited down there five or six times. And we went to his funeral. Every ACC coach was there. He left a legacy as far as the kind of man that he was."
Virginia Tech likely will have a new following in Yadkin County starting next season. The Hokies have been a pleasant surprise since joining the ACC a couple of years ago, consistently challenging the league's old guard and scoring some big wins over Duke and Carolina.
"We just felt like this was the right one," Livengood said. "Victor felt more comfortable every time we went up there."
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