NBA Draft Insider

College: Kentucky

Birthday: 03/11/1993

NBA Position: PF

Class: Freshman

Ht: 6-10

Wt: 220

Hometown: Chicago, Ill

High School: Perspectives Charter

Ceiling: Kevin Garnett

Basement: Tyrus Thomas

NBA Comparison: Young Kevin Garnett

Strengths:

• Athletic
• Long (7-4 wingspan)
• Quick
• Elite Shot-Blocker
• Quality Rebounder
• Ball-Handling
• Guard Skills
• Mid-Range Shooting

Weaknesses:

• Strength
• Post Moves

Analysis:

03/24/2012

There is no question who the No. 1 prospect (and pick) for the upcoming NBA Draft is anymore. The Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, and New Orleans Hornets (the teams with the best odds) have an easy decision to make if they win the lottery.

Over the course of the season what has been the most impressive aspect of Davis’s game has been his ability to be a sponge. Entering into the season the common scouting report on Davis was that he was a long, athletic defender that used to be a guard. He needs to add strength and is limited offensively.

Nearly every weakness has become an improvement or a strength over the course of the season. When you watch Davis on offense now he is a very willing shooter. His ability to catch the ball in the high post to either attack the rim or shoot has really developed. That part of his game is not a finished product, but it is now something he does with consistency.

His shooting form is good, something that can be worked with to make Davis a better shooter. The time he had as a guard is starting to effect his game in a positive way. During the first half of the year he was working on getting comfortable as a big man. Now that he has played through an entire season he looks comfortable doing all the things a big man needs to do ob both ends of the floor. The guard plays come naturally to him and he is starting to get comfortable handling the ball, making plays, and shooting the ball more. With that, Davis shoots the ball less than three of his teammates on the year.

Davis is not a hungry shooter that needs 25 possessions called for him. He does not need to be the focus on offense. More importantly, he does all the intangible things necessary for his team to win.

02/12/2012

All season Davis has been a prolific shot-blocker. He is not the typical shot-blocker for his size though. Davis is not built strong like other defenders, he is lean and long. Despite that he has an uncanny ability to block both weak side shots covering up the lane, but also in man-to-man settings as well.

The rest of his game is coming along at a decent pace. Scoring is not his strongest suit on the perimeter, but he has a knack for scoring in-close. A mid-range jump shot would be invaluable to him at this point.

His frame looks like it can handle some additional weight and it will need it at the next level. At this point in the season Davis is clearly at the top of this Draft Class and would go No.1 Overall today. He has the ability to be somewhere between Tyson Chandler and Kevin Garnett.

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