Fourteen years is a long time to be away from home.

Duncanville raised her. Texas developed her. A handful of coaching stops in between did the rest.

She’s back now as a Wings assistant coach, and the basketball part is almost secondary to everything else pulling her here.

“A couple of things, actually,” Davenport told Dallas Weekly. “Since I graduated from high school, I haven’t been home. So it’s been a good 14 years since I’ve been back in my hometown. It’ll be good to be back closer to my family, closer to my grandparents, which is what I value the most.”

Her mother never let the distance feel that far. Phone calls and visits only go so far, though. The other part goes back to who she stayed close to along the way.

“I think the most important thing overall is just the relationships that you build throughout your journey,” Davenport said. “The relationships that I’ve had from high school really created a pathway for me to be successful and to even take this job. It comes down to a relationship that I have with Jose.”

Wings head coach Jose Fernandez brought in Davenport to be a part of his coaching staff for his first season.

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The two never worked on the same staff, but they were in the same conference long enough for Davenport to develop a real appreciation for how he operates offensively.

“Him and I were in the same conference when I was at UTSA,” she said. “We started out in Conference USA (before both universities became a part of the American Conference). I competed against him for a few years and was able to study how he operates offensively. I really respect his offensive mind, and I’m super excited to learn from him in that regard.”

That respect deepened during an international trip to Bulgaria and Turkey, where Fernandez took her under his wing. Coaching careers often hinge on moments like that, the kind that don’t show up on a résumé but shape how people think about each other.

“It’s nice to be able to build those types of relationships and then to be thought of and considered for something like this,” Davenport said.

Karen Aston came before any of that. Davenport played for Aston at Texas, then wound up on her staff at UTSA years later — same coach, completely different vantage point.

“To be considered by your former head coach is the all-time compliment, in my opinion,” she said. “Everybody wants to go back and ultimately coach at your alma mater, right? But if you can get the opportunity to coach under your head coach, I think that speaks volumes about who you are as a person and the relationship that you built as a player.”

Aston’s influence stuck with her for a specific reason.

“Karen is awesome,” she said. “She’s the most detailed coach that I’ve coached for in my tenure.”

That familiarity made the jump from Lamar to UTSA feel seamless.

“The transition from Lamar to UTSA was super easy because the language is the same, the terminology, how she runs things,” Davenport said. “Everything from Texas was the same at UTSA in terms of what she demanded and the expectation. It wasn’t hard for me to get acclimated or adjusted to who she is because I already knew who she was and how she likes things.”

Now she’s making a bigger leap, from college basketball to the WNBA. The players arrive more polished, the margins are tighter, and the demands on a coaching staff are different. Davenport isn’t treating that lightly.

“I’ve always wanted to impact winning at the highest level,” she said. “Being in college, the most impact that you have can sometimes be on the players, but you also want to be able to compete in the NCAA tournament. I think this transition to the W will help my career in terms of growth, X’s and O’s, and networking throughout the business.”

She framed her first year with the Wings largely around absorbing as much as she can from the people around her.

“I’m most excited about learning from Jose because I think he has a really good basketball mind, and Curt [Miller] obviously has done this for many, many years,” Davenport said. “Also, the assistant GM, Jasmine Thomas, kind of similar to Karen and I’s relationship. I played for Karen, then she hired me. Jasmine played for Curt, and then he hired her. I think that speaks volumes.”

“My objective is to be a sponge and try to pick up everything I can,” she continued. “Basketball is basketball, no matter the level, but at this particular level, it’s about the pros that you’re working with. Every level gets a little bit more competitive.”

She sees real ceiling with this franchise.

“I really think that Dallas is a gold mine,” she said. “There is no reason why Dallas should not be competing for a championship every year. It’s even better that I get to do it in my hometown.”

Part of her work will involve a backcourt that includes Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, and Tyasha Harris. Davenport, a former guard herself, described player development as something that extends beyond practice reps.

“When I think of player development, I think of it in terms of on the court and also off the court,” Davenport said. “I like to put players in situations that I think they’ll be in during games and figure out how we can be most successful. I also like to stimulate their brain in terms of, ‘what are you thinking and how do you think about this one particular scenario?’, as opposed to how I can improve it.”

“I think it’s going to be a fun time working with the elite of the elites,” Davenport said.

On Bueckers specifically, Davenport kept coming back to something beyond skill level.

“Obviously, Paige is a phenomenal player,” Davenport said. “Everybody in the city loves her. She comes to work every day. I’ve heard nothing but good things about her, and she’s super personable.”

She pointed to a story she’d heard about Bueckers stopping the team bus to sign an autograph for a fan running after it.

“You want to be around those types of people that are very humble but also committed to being involved in the community and being leaders.”

When asked what she wants young players in Duncanville, Dallas, and across Texas to take from her career, she kept it short.

“One is to always be competitive regardless of what it is,” she said. “Two, you really just have to put in the work day in and day out and bet on yourself.”

“I think that’s the key to success, putting in the work, knowing that it’s going to pay off and that it’s going to come to fruition,” Davenport said. “Then just bet on yourself and take the chance. Take these opportunities that may not come a second time.”

Davenport will help navigate Fernandez through his first year as head coach with a clear belief in what this franchise can become and the kind of sustained presence that comes from actually being from here.

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