Rosetta: Davis feeds off support from friends

Here it was, the night when Glen Davis’ hopes and aspirations were poised to finally reach a new phase.

Everyone he needed and wanted was there, evidence of how strong those relationships have always been and will continue to be.

Turns out, that social network that has been so vital for Glen Davis was needed one more time when his plans — when their plans — didn’t follow the script as perfectly as everyone hoped.

And true to the form Glen Davis has followed all along, he took a bad situation and is ready to make the best of it. Like every other hurdle and obstacle he’s confronted, Glen Davis won’t go at it alone.

His friends, family, teammates and former coaches from every level were there to help hold him up when he was knocked wobbly by an NBA draft process that didn’t make much sense.

And that’s what made the whole episode equally as heart-wrenching as it was uplifting to witness.

Not everyone in Glen Davis’ expansive circle of important people sees eye-to-eye — with each other or with him at times. There’s no question that Glen Davis has had complex, hot-and-cold relationships with those closest to him.

At his core, the jovial and personable Glen Davis is a unique but multifaceted hybrid of a somebody forced to grow up way too quickly, blended with a still-evolving kid who desperately needed the warm and tender embrace he got Thursday night.

Glen Davis is inevitably the center of attention with a personality that’s almost always stronger than anybody else in the room. But he’s also the kind of kid who treats people around him with respect. Collis Temple often gets credited for the man Glen Davis has become and is destined to be.

But Temple, who is willing to be a father figure to just about anybody who needs one, doesn’t buy it.

“Glen Davis has an outstanding mother,” Temple said of Toyna Davis, the one-of-a-kind woman who has battled drugs most of her life, but never came close to forgetting about her love for her children.

“I didn’t put any of the basics in Glen. His character, him being a good person and wonderful young man, that’s because his mother raised him right.”

Toyna Davis established the foundation and she’s gotten plenty of help since.

Temple and his family entered Glen Davis’ life when he was 9 years old and made an indelible impact.

Ari Fisher has been there since Glen Davis was a freshman at University High.

Glen Davis’ father, Donald Robertson, entered the picture when his son needed him most.

LSU coaches Butch Pierre and John Brady deserve credit as well, regardless of what transpired during a disappointing final season with the Tigers.

And John Hamilton, Glen Davis’ agent and friend, will play a larger role from here on out.

All of the above are integral parts of the mosaic that is Glen Davis. Fittingly, they were all there Thursday. It wasn’t a perfect night, but then Glen Davis’ amazing journey has never been the smoothest ride.

As always, though, his support system was there, and Glen Davis came away poised to take the next step with grace and the strength he’s always leaned on.