On Friday, May 2, members of the Manual community lost a friend and teammate in 18-year-old Davis Randle. Randle, a graduating HSU senior, had been battling osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, since 2023. He rang the bell to mark the end of his chemotherapy treatment on September 1, 2024, but unfortunately, the cancer returned only a few months later in December.
Randle was a vital member of the basketball team, and first fell in love with the sport in second grade, playing for the basketball team at Semple Elementary School. He also played football during his childhood and ran track while at Manual, but he quickly realized basketball was his passion.
He ultimately joined Manual’s boys’ basketball team, participating his freshman and sophomore years, while also forming a tight bond with fellow teammates Justice Decker (12, MST) and Malachi Coleman (12, HSU). Despite his diagnosis on Dec. 22, 2023, he continued to remain close with the team, supporting his fellow teammates, going to practices and cheering from the sidelines as he went through chemotherapy.
Manual’s basketball team and community also offered their own support for Randle throughout his cancer journey. The 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons were marked by the rally cry “Do it for Davo.” Randle, known as Davo by his friends and teammates, was represented and supported by the phrase, which was often written on warmup shirts and in Instagram captions.
“So if you look on our warm-up shirts when we’re away, there’s the number 34, which was his number. And we have ‘Do it for Davo’ on t-shirts. When Davis comes around, it brightens everybody up, gives us strength to understand that we know we gotta keep fighting. Not only keep fighting but just keep fighting for him,” boys’ basketball head coach Miquel Coleman said in an interview with WLKY.
During his senior night on Tuesday, Feb. 11, Randle got one last chance to step on the court and play with his teammates, where he scored four points against Fern Creek during the Crimsons’ senior night.
“That’s what he loves. So it was good to see him. As much as he has fought to be here, we are happy that he was given this moment tonight because he deserves it. And he has worked so hard to fight and be healthy as possible, to be able to participate tonight. So it was all for him and it was worth it,” Danielle Randle, Randle’s mother, said in an interview with Spectrum News.
Randle passed away almost three months after senior night. In commemoration, Manual’s boys’ basketball team posted a tribute to Instagram this past Sunday, writing “Thank you Davis for giving so much joy to everyone around you. Please surround his family, friends and teammates with your love and compassion.” The comments were filled with yellow hearts and prayers from those who knew Randle.
In an email sent to Manual staff, Principal Dr. Michael Newman also paid tribute to Randle, writing “Words cannot describe the sadness created by the loss of a child taken too soon. Davis was a vibrant young man whose life and personality impacted many here at Manual. He will be missed by his family, close friends, coaches, staff, and teachers.”
Randle’s visitation was held at Saint Stephens’s Baptist Church on Friday, May 9, with a funeral service immediately following. A flower vigil memorial will be held for Randle at Manual on Wednesday, May 14, before the start of school. It will be open to all Manual students and staff, who are invited to bring one flower to be placed in the garden in memoriam.
This story was originally published on Manual RedEye on May 12, 2025.
