Editor's note: The info box accompanying the print version of this story in Friday's The Oklahoma Daily incorrectly reported the start time of Senior Night for men's basketball Saturday. The correct time is 3 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.

Outside of the men’s locker room of the Bruce Drake Practice Court, a quote hangs on the wall of the building’s brick interior.

First uttered by Muhammad Ali, the artfully crafted sentence resonates with a meaning that will outlast its creator: “Service to others is rent for your time spent here on earth.”

Next to those words hangs a portrait of senior guard Cade Davis teaching two children basketball.

That is the legacy Davis said he hopes to leave behind — one of giving, sharing and leadership.

Davis is the only senior on the men’s basketball team. As such, he has seen every high and low the Sooners have been a part of in the last four years.

Davis was privy to the explosion of fellow Oklahoma native Blake Griffin onto the national college basketball scene. He was a junior on last season’s 13-18 team that saw the departures of players Tommy Mason-Griffin, Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon.

He was a part of the Sooner team that earned a spot in the Elite Eight of the 2009 NCAA tournament, but this season he is a part of a team that was young, inexperienced and — at times — overmatched in athleticism and talent.

Being the lone senior on the team was a surprise from where he started, Davis said.

“A lot has changed since I first got [to OU] — not me as a person really, but maybe my thoughts and how I think about things,” Davis said. “I did not expect to be in this position where I’m at four years ago.”

Still, Davis remained a model student-athlete and an ideal Sooner, coach Jeff Capel said.

“He’s tough; he’s fought through adversity; he’s had success — his career as student-athlete has helped prepare him for life,” Capel said. “He’s been through it all, and he’s made [the team] better for having fought through so much.”

Davis was Capel’s first signed recruit in 2007 and will be the first to graduate from the men’s basketball program during Capel’s tenure.

The Elk City native gained collegiate experience quickly his freshman year, playing in 28 of the team’s 35 games during the 2007-08 season.

By his junior year, Davis solidified his place in the Sooners’ starting lineup and averaged 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 1.5 steals per game.

The Sooners will miss Davis’ offensive production and work ethic, but the team also will miss his quiet presence most — both on and off the court — sophomore guard Steven Pledger said.

“He plays harder and is very passionate about the game, but we’re going to miss his nonvocal leadership,” Pledger said. “I was up because he was up.”

The Sooners have suffered another down year this season. The team is 12-17 and 4-11 in Big 12 play going into their final regular-season game Saturday against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

But Davis said he could not have asked for a better group of young men to play with this season and leave in control of the future of Sooner basketball.

“They’re extremely hard workers and have put up with critics and everybody kind of doubting us this year, but they fought through it,” he said.

The negative attention the team has received this season has only helped bring the players closer as a group, Davis said. He said he expects the tough losses this season to pay dividends for the returning players next season.

“For how hard we worked during the summertime and playing these tough teams, I think we’ve proven to people that we’re a tough team,” Davis said. “And these guys are only getting started.”

Davis said he hoped he has made his family and the Sooner sports family proud of him.

“I’ve tried to take advantage of every opportunity that was given to me,” he said.

Davis said he appreciated his four years at OU and believes it has helped him become a better person, as well as basketball player.

“It’s been quite a journey, and I’ve been put in a unique position that I’m trying to make the most of,” Davis said. “Nothing is given to you — you have to work hard, and that’s something I hope I passed on to my teammates.”