STARKVILLE — Former Mississippi State basketball coach and player Kermit Davis Sr. has died, according to a university announcement on Aug. 10.

He was 91 years old.

Davis was inducted into the M-Club Hall of Fame and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He’s also the father of Kermit Davis Jr., who played basketball at MSU and was Ole Miss’ coach from 2018-23.

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Davis was a star basketball player at Walnut High School before playing at Mississippi State from 1956-59. He was the team captain of the 1958-59 team that went 24-1, won the program’s first SEC regular-season championship and finished ranked No. 3 in the AP poll.

MORE: Kermit Davis Sr.: I’ll still pull for MSU when they’re not playing Kermit and Ole Miss

Davis coached high school basketball at three Mississippi schools – Leakesville, Tupelo and Starkville – before getting hired as the Mississippi State coach in 1970. He went 91-91 in seven seasons at MSU and won SEC Coach of the Year in 1971.

Davis was also the associate director of Mississippi State’s Bulldog Club from 1980-90.

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Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Kermit Davis Sr, former Mississippi State basketball coach and player, dies at 91