FIU guard finds refuge in South Florida, dedicating his career to father he never knew

FIU point guard Antonio Daye Jr. wears the No. 5 jersey in honor of a man he never met.

That would be Antonio Daye, who died in a car crash five days before his son and namesake was born.

“It’s hard to have feelings or thoughts on something you never had,” said Daye Jr., a 19-year-old sophomore who was raised primarily by his mother, Charisma Peaks. “I obviously wish he were here, but I don’t think [his absence] weighed too heavily on me. I always just knew what it was like not having a father.”

Daye — who was born and raised in basketball country, Durham, N.C. — said his uncles and coaches served as father figures. One of his uncles is Jawad Williams, the North Carolina Tar Heels’ third-leading scorer in 2005 when they won the national title.

Williams, now 36, is still playing pro ball, having taken his game to Japan, and Daye talks to him regularly. Daye spent a good part of this past summer living at Williams’ house in Chapel Hill, N.C., as the two of them trained together.

Daye grew up a Tar Heels fan, with tons of team gear in his closet and UNC posters on his walls. He starred at Durham’s Southern High, playing for coach David Noel, who was Williams’ teammate on that 2005 UNC team.

But when it came time for his senior year, Daye moved to Broward County with a family friend and enrolled at Fort Lauderdale High, where he averaged 25.4 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds, making third team Class 8A All-State.

Daye’s mother said Durham had become too dangerous for her son.

“At least 50% of his friends had gotten either killed or locked up,” Peaks said. “It was out of control with shootings, and the gangs were getting younger and younger.

“Once ‘Tonio became a teenager, just being curious, he wanted to hang around certain people. He wasn’t doing drugs or fighting, but he had become defiant toward me.

“During his first year of high school, he got off track really bad with his grades, and he wasn’t eligible to play basketball for his second semester. That was a wake-up call. Since age 3, basketball has been the only thing he really loved besides his family.”

Daye, who wasn’t offered a scholarship by UNC, waited until the second signing period, which began in mid-April of 2018, to make his college decision.

FIU had hired Jeremy Ballard on April 23, 2018, and the coach scrambled to put together a recruiting class.

Ballard, associate head coach David Cason, and assistant Jesse Bopp saw Daye on video and quickly began recruiting him.

“Jesse was the point man on Antonio, and I went to Indianapolis to watch him play an Under Armour event during my first week on the job,” Cason said. “[Ballard] wanted speed and athleticism, and Antonio was exactly what we were looking for.”

Cason, who was the director of basketball operations at UNC, was on the staff that recruited Jawad Williams. But he wasn’t aware that Daye was Williams’ nephew until after he had signed with FIU.

Meanwhile, Daye became Ballard’s first high school recruit at FIU and also this staff’s first signing from Florida.

“All my players have a special place in my heart, but Antonio certainly does for those reasons,” Ballard said. “He also embodies our style of play maybe more than anybody because he’s fast, tough, aggressive, and relentless.”

As a freshman last season, Daye played in all 34 games, including 18 starts, averaging 8.3 points. He also scored a career-high 22 points against rival Florida Atlantic.

It was a solid season, but Daye said it was “challenging” going from high school, where he was dominant, to college, where 90% of FIU’s offense requires the point guard to read ball screens.

“In our system,” Ballard said, “the point guard is the head of the snake in terms of our fast-paced offense and our pressure defense. It’s a lot for a freshman to learn.”

Daye, who is 6-1, is a full-time starter this year, sharing point-guard duties with junior-college transfer Tevin Brewer.

FIU coaches have praised Daye for his work ethic and competitive spirit. Daye also likes to talk on the court, perhaps in an effort to unnerve his opponents. Either way, he doesn’t lack for confidence, even in game-winning, do-or-die situations.

Case in point: In a 70-69 win over New Hampshire on Nov. 30, Ballard drew up the final play for Daye. With the score tied, Daye read that the original play was covered, forcing him to improvise. He drew a foul with 1.4 seconds left and made the game-winning free throw, allowing FIU (7-3) to escape with the win.

“They were overplaying the pass,” said Daye, who is averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 assists. “I called off the play and went on my instincts. Coach trusts me to make the right basketball play.”

After a lifetime overcoming adversity and navigating through obstacles, Daye has earned that trust.

This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 1:19 PM.