If one can imagine basketball as a track relay, Jermaine Marrow has handed the baton to Davion Warren at Hampton University.

Marrow, aka “Mayno,” left HU a year ago as the state of Virginia’s all-time Division I scorer with 2,680 points.

Now Warren, a 6-foot-6 senior from Buffalo, N.Y., is doing a solid Marrow imitation this season, averaging 21.8 points for the Big South Conference team.

“I felt no pressure to replace Jermaine,” Warren said. “When you play basketball every day of your life, you know what to do.”

Warren assures he is no one-trick pony.

“It’s not just about scoring. I try to be a leader, rebounder, play defense ... even be a decoy if that’s what we need,” he said.

As of Jan. 22, Warren was the state’s Division I second- leading scorer behind James Madison University’s Matt Lewis, who had 22.5 points.

Warren also averages seven rebounds and two steals per out- ing for Hampton Coach Buck Joyner.

As of last week, Lewis was fourth in the nation and Warren 11th on the national Division I scoring chart.

Warren also leads the Big South in scoring and steals and is tied for second in rebounding.

A year ago as HU’s third option behind Marrow (24.8) and Ben Stanley (22.0), Warren avenged 11 points and six rebounds while compiling five double-doubles.

Marrow is now playing professionally for Mega in the Eastern European nation of Georgia.

Stanley transferred to Xavier University in Cincinnati but has since suffered a season-ending knee injury.

It was time for Warren, who came to HU with strong credentials, to step up—and he has. The guard-forward combo arrived at HU last season following two stellar seasons with the Olney Central College Blue Knights, a junior college program in Illinois.

Warren’s former AAU coach in Buffalo, Ty Parker, was an old friend of Coach Joyner through Johnson C. Smith University connections.

“I came for a visit and signed about two weeks later,” Warren recalled.

“I knew about Jermaine and how outstanding he was. Coach Joyner told me I could be ‘the next guy’ if I worked hard.”

Warren has hit just 29 percent of his 3-pointers but is a “bull” — befitting his Buffalo upbringing — in the lane. Frequently fouled close to the hoop, he is 64 for 82 (78 percent) at the free throw line.

HU has been derailed of late by COVID-19 postponements. The two-game sets Jan. 19 and 20 with Campbell University in North Carolina and Jan. 25 and 26 with Winthrop University in South Carolina must be rescheduled.

The Pirates are 7-8 overall and 6-4 in the Big South, trailing Winthrop, Radford and the University of North Carolina-Asheville in the standings. Next up for HU are home games Jan. 29 and 30 against High Point University, which is coached by former University of Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith.

Warren’s star isn’t the only one shining at HU’s Holland Hall.

Sophomore Chris Shelton from Louisa leads the Big South in 3-point percentage — 47 for 94, or 50 percent. Shelton is the team’s second-leading scorer with a dozen a night.

Dajour Dickens, a 7-foot junior from Hampton’s Bethel High School, leads the conference with 3.1 blocked shots per game to go along with 7.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per outing.