GETTING THE BALL ROLLING: CC Sabathia and his wife, Amber, watch as Gloria Rufus, CC’s aunt and the mother of the recently deceased Demetrius Davis, cuts the ribbon for a new basketball court in honor of Davis. Sabathia’s PitCCh In Foundation donated the funds for the court in Vallejo, Calif. (Shomari Smith)
VALLEJO, Calif. — Demetrius Davis bullied everyone on the basketball court and no one off of it.
“He bullied me,” his younger cousin CC Sabathia, laughing, told a crowd of about 200 people yesterday.
On Dec. 15, Davis played morning basketball near his Sacramento home. Just hours later, he died of a heart attack at age 45. So it fit that, to honor the man’s memory, his inner circle named a basketball court, located within walking distance from the house where he grew up, after him.
And it surprised no one that the man who is physically here the least of anyone, but whose presence is always felt, made this touching day possible.
“This is home. This is my community,” Sabathia said. “I just want to see it doing well. Whatever I can do to help it out … I thought this would be more like a barbecue. That’s what my cousin would have wanted.”
The timing worked out perfectly: Sabathia flew from Seattle to San Francisco with his Yankees teammates on Sunday night and slept in his house in nearby Fairfield, Calif. Tonight he’ll kick off the three-game series against the A’s at O.co Coliseum, his 14th career appearance in the ballpark closest to where he grew up.
With a rare in-season off day in Northern California, Sabathia utilized it to honor his cousin and touch base with the people he has known the longest. His PitCCh In Foundation paid for the court to be repaved, and CC and his wife, Amber, emceed the dedication ceremony. CC’s mother, Margie, also attended.
Davis played tight end for the University of Nevada and was the very last selection of the 1990 NFL draft (by the Los Angeles Raiders), earning the annual “Mr. Irrelevant” title. He never played in the NFL, instead going to the Barcelona Dragons of the World League of American Football.
“Big brother, little brother,” Sabathia said of his relationship with Davis. “He’s definitely the reason why I started playing sports. I’d just follow him around. When he was at Reno, we would always drive up. He would take me in the locker room, take me on his shoulders. Even when he was in the (WLAF), he would always bring me in, bring me around.”
Gloria Rufus, Davis’ mother and Sabathia’s aunt, recalled a conversation between Sabathia and Davis. As Sabathia saw Davis excel in football, Rufus said, the left-hander announced: “That’s what I want to do. I want to become a famous ballplayer.”
That worked out well enough that Sabathia expects between 150 and 200 family members at tonight’s game. The choir from the Solano Middle School, Sabathia’s alma mater, will sing the national anthem, and PitCCh In paid for the choir’s transportation to the ballpark plus concession-stand vouchers.
“When I’m warming up in the outfield, it always feels like a high school game,” Sabathia said.
With so much love and support here, it made you wonder what it would be like for Sabathia to work in the area. Sabathia, contemplating, smiled and said: “No. It would’ve been crazy. But it always feels good to come back.
“But I think it might’ve been too much, trying to play here in Oakland or San Francisco. Maybe when I’m a little older. But it just feels good to be able to come here or come back and not have the pressure of getting tickets and that stuff every day.”
(To be clear, he laughed at his “little older” line. He has made it clear he wants to retire as a Yankee.)
The Sabathias were here, as part of their Christmas visit, when Davis died. “It was shocking, just because he was in good shape,” CC said. “I miss him a lot.”
To celebrate Davis’ life, the Sabathias planned for yesterday to be a basketball tournament and barbecue in addition to the dedication. CC took the ceremonial first shot. From behind the three-point key, his effort hit the front rim, leapt to the backboard and then banked through the net. Sabathia raised his arms in triumph as the people on site roared.
“There’s no way I would have imagined this day,” Rufus said. “It was beautiful of CC and Amber to do this.”
“It feels good to be able to come home,” Sabathia said. “I’m just a kid from Vallejo trying to do right.”
Tonight, doing right means trying to beat the hometown A’s. Good luck finding someone from Vallejo who’ll be rooting against the Yankees.
kdavidoff@nypost.com