After three schools in three different parts of the country over the span of four years, redshirt junior guard Danya Kingsby’s basketball journey has settled at Bradley.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” Kingsby said. “I’m very thankful to still be able to do what I love.”
Bradley head coach Brian Wardle has followed Kingsby’s journey every step of the way.
“We’ve known him since his high school days out of Milwaukee, when I was at Green Bay,” Wardle said. “He’s had a journey, and everybody’s path and journey is different … I think things have happened for a reason for [Kingsby] to be here at Bradley.”
Kingsby attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Milwaukee before heading to Arlington Prep in Jacksonville for the 2015-16 season. Arlington is the same school senior center Koch Bar attended, and the two teamed together for the 2015-16 season.
From Florida, Kingsby headed west to Southern Idaho, where he averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 assists per game in two seasons. During his sophomore season, Kingsby led the Golden Eagles to a runner-up finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.
“[I learned to] keep working hard, because you can get there at a different level,” Kingsby said about his time in Idaho. “I’ve never played at the Division I level yet, but I saw how the national tournament was with JuCo, and I’m just excited for the year.”
The 6-foot-1-inch guard was originally committed to Pittsburgh out of Southern Idaho, but decommitted after head coach Kevin Stallings was fired. Kingsby instead headed to Baton Rouge, where he spent the 2018-19 season.
“I take a lot from being at LSU,” Kingsby said. “Everything I learned there I’m just going to bring here. I feel like there’s really no difference [between the schools] besides the coaching.”
Usually, NCAA transfer rules require a transferring player to sit out a year before participating at a school of the same division level. However, Kingsby submitted a medical hardship waiver, and his request was granted, making him immediately eligible. Kingsby didn’t play a game for the Tigers, who made a run to the Sweet 16, partially because of a medical condition.
After he entered the transfer portal, Bradley came calling once more.
“Even after LSU, they called me, and they wanted me here,” Kingsby said. “Bradley was just the right spot for me because they’ve always been here by my side.”
Being just over three and a half hours from Milwaukee, the drive for the Kingsby family to see Danya play is now more manageable.
“It feels good to be back at home, close to my family because they haven’t seen me play in a while,” Kingsby said. “It’s going to be nice to see them in the crowd, and they finally get to see me play.”
Kingsby’s last college basketball game was the NJCAA championship on March 24, 2018 – about 19 months ago. This hasn’t deterred Kingsby, or the coaching staff’s confidence in him.
“He’s good,” Wardle said. “He’s been in college, you can tell … You can tell he’s been in some practices.”
Kingsby says he feels ready to return to a high level of play.
“[The game] usually comes back naturally, but I haven’t played in a game in so long, so it was a little struggle. But after that first scrimmage, I got my feet in the water,” Kingsby said. “Now I’m very confident in my game … I know I belong on this level.”
Joining a roster that lost five guards from last season’s MVC Tournament champion team, Kingsby is slated to play a big role in the Braves rotation from the jump.
“I’m just going to do whatever I can do to help the team win,” Kingsby said. “If they need me to lock a defender down, I’m going to lock a defender down. If they need me to put the ball in the basket here and there, that’s what I’m going to do.”
After 589 days since his final game at Southern Idaho, the basketball journeyman will finally take his game to the NCAA Division I level, when Bradley takes on St. Joseph’s in the official season opener on Tuesday.
It’s been a long time coming, but Kingsby is ready, and above all, looking forward to picking up where he left off.
“I’m so excited, it just feels good to be out there,” Kingsby said. “I can’t wait to get out there and go to war with my boys.”
