Ed Davis’ hometown paper catches up with him over the weekend. We knew Davis was impressive on the court but he is equally impressive with the things he says off of it.
In the NCAA title game, he came off the bench to contribute 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds in only 14 minutes. For the season, the 6-10, 220-pound left-hander averaged 6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds and led the Tar Heels with 65 blocked shots.
“I’m happy with the year I had,” Davis said. “National championship, I can’t complain. We did a lot of good things this year. Coming into the season, I didn’t think about how many minutes I could get. I just thought, I want to contribute to the team in whatever role Coach gave me.”
His daily battles with other gifted big men — Hansbrough, Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller — accelerated Davis’ transition to the college game.
“Practices were harder than the games,” he said, “because you’re going against Tyler every day in practice and then Deon and then Zeller. They all have different games.”
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Davis, 19, said he decided to stay in school “not to raise my NBA stock, but just because I love Carolina. And then whenever I’m ready for the NBA, that’s when I’m just going to make that step.”
He spoke to a couple of NBA players, Davis said, and they told him, as had his father, a former Virginia Union standout, that “nothing is as fun as college . . . That’s why I look forward to enjoying the years I’m here.”
Call that the “Tyler Hansbrough mentality.” On one hand it is easy to be cynical about press releases that say a player loves the school and is returning because of that. On the other hand, Davis was going to be a lottery pick so the desire to return out of a love for college appears to be genuine. That and the fact this kid appears to be extremely grounded. C.Michael emailed me from the ACC Tournament and said that Davis is almost timid in person but you tell he gets “it.” That is evident in Davis saying he was willing to accept whatever role the coaches had for him. That is not the first time he has made that statement and speaks volumes about his character. The other upside for him and Tyler Zeller is the fact practice is often tougher than the games. How many freshman have to match up versus three different quality big men every day?
Davis is going to be a special player next season and I think there is hope, based on these comments, that he may not necessarily be in a rush to get to the NBA. Granted his family has a good financial situation which helps Davis make these decisions with less pressure than other have when making the same choice. All in all I am looking forward to a full season of Davis as a starter in 2009-10.
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I don’t have a link, but there was a video on THB a few weeks ago where Copeland was “interviewing” Ed Davis and you got to see the funny side of him. Seems like a good guy.
There will probably be some big-time battles for who starts at center next to Deon. Of course, we assume Davis will beat out Zeller, but Roy will not foreclose the competition.
he’s got a great mix of respect for his elders (Tyler, Deon) but also a nice self-confidence in his own game. This “kid” obviously has good judgment and character. There is already great chemistry apparent between him & LD. If he has faith & confidence in his future pg, that’s plenty good enough for me.
I think that Ed can (and will) develop I nice mid-range j, in addition to piling on some more muscle. His defensive instincts are truly impressive. I love the way he, like many great shot blockers do (Kevin McHale, for example), bate the opponent in to thinking that the shot is there and then he uses his range (and the right angle) to block the ball back in to play.
Nice.
Sam Perkins, what took you so long to return?
Back in the 70′s, a lot of stars retired because they simply no longer wanted to deal with the long season, which ended earlier which made it even more of a grind, since they played the same number of regular season games in a compressed time period.
It is not as bad as it used to be now that teams have chartered flights, and there are more off-days, but let’s face it, the NBA is a real grind and it is even more of a grind the more successful your team is. The fear of getting injured in college is a real one, but evidence seems to be mounting that there are no free rides. Going pro at 18 may not extend a player’s career. It may be the mileage that counts more than the age of the player.
Here’s a recent quote from SI on John Wall’s AAU coach’s thoughts about Wall attending UNC:
Williams could still recruit Wall directly, by calling him, his mother and high-school coach at Word of God. “[Williams] is well within his right to do that,” Clifton said. “And John can go to whatever school he decides to. But I honestly feel that to make that decision he’s going to have to turn to his mother and turn to me and have both of us say, we support it. And I absolutely would not support him going to UNC.”
Hard to understand this thinking. Wall will have to make his own decision. Clifton does not have complete control of Wall, or Wall wouldn’t be wearing UNC shoes and talking with UNC coaches. There is no spot for him unless Lawson/Ellington leave this year. So time will tell.
Roy doesn’t deal with AAU coaches. Clifton wanted Roy to kiss his ring and possibly other parts of his anatomy and Roy basically said no. Why? Because Roy is a good enough recruiter without having to get his hands dirty paying tribute to guys like Clifton.
“Going pro at 18 may not extend a player’s career. It may be the mileage that counts more than the age of the player.”
That is an interesting comment and one that I’ve considered quite a bit. I don’t know if there are enough cases yet, and cases that would be consistently comparable, to measure this concept, but it’s certainly not a stretch to imagine that players only have so many years to play in their careers. Tracy McGrady has been used a lot lately as a possible example of this, but then he may not be the best example because he’s been injured a good bit of his career anyway. If you compare two 12-year potential career time-spans for the same player though, with one being from 18-30 and the other from 21-33, I would be more inclined to say that the player at 30 years old would be more productive than the one at 33.
I recall Roy saying recently that he would work with people who were important to the kid (I think it is Gary Williams that will not deal with with AAU coaches).
I would really like to know, specifically, what Roy did to Clifton to make him so mad. The obvious guess is that Clifton has tried to make it clear to all that he “represents” Wall and that Roy has bypassed Clifton entirely.
The funny part about this is Roy appears handled the situation with the utmost class, probably talking directly to Wall and his mom, that Clifton was left with no choice but to say Roy was a bad person and that Wall isn’t going to UNC because he doesn’t have Clifton’s support. I wonder if this means Wall is leaning toward UNC and Clifton is making a last ditch effort to avoid being cut-off (from his mealticket)?
wb3-
“I wonder if this means Wall is leaning toward UNC and Clifton is making a last ditch effort to avoid being cut-off (from his mealticket)?
Nice point. I say this because Clifton appears to be quite flummoxed by the very thought of Wall being a Tar Heel. If he wanted the best for John, he would keep his mouth shut. Roy Williams has the utmost respect amongst his coaching peers, and if there is an AAU coach who is this upset with Roy Williams, then a lot of coaches will want to take a second look at both who this Clifton guy is and just what does he expect out of this situation?
Again, I have said that the Wall situation has legs under it now, and clearly this Clifton guy considers UNC to be a realistic choice (now) for John. Also, one cannot overstate the fact that Lawson and Ellington haven’t officially delcared yet, so the point guard position will not be vacated (formally) until Ty makes his announcement. The more days that pass without Wall committing, the more apparent it seems (to me) that he is waiting for a specific reason, not just to have this hang over him day after day. If the latter is the case, then I would be VERY hesitant to pursue a recruit that is so attracted to spectacle.
After all the articles, video clips, blogs, etc., I honestly think the kid wants to play for a contender where he can run the point with some degree of freedom. At Kentucky, Cal would give Wall more freedom to do HIS thing offensively, as opposed to a UNC or Dook, where the coaches have specific ideas (other than, “hey, you’ll be just like Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans!”) for what he could/should do.
Ahhh, yet another Ed Davis thread that has been taken over by John Wall. Guilty.
Ed Davis RULES!
Gary Williams won’t deal with the AAU guys either, which was driving a lot of his bad media earlier this year. Calhoun does, of course and I think his image has taken a real hit due to his feud with Gary Williams and the recent stuff.
Kareem had just about the longest career of anyone, but he wasn’t much of a banger and he always attributed it to the Yoga. Wilt could have played at a high level, say third team All Pro for a few more years, but he didn’t want to travel anymore. I remember thinking Moses was going to end up with all the records, but then he petered out and Kareem sort of passed him again in the mid-80′s.
The baseball guys seem to be playing longer and longer. Boxers are fighting into their forties but you don’t see so many 40 year old basketball players. One thing that may be true and figure into the equation is that apparently dunking and jumping ability peaks and maxes out very early to the point where Jordan had a hard time dunking for the 2004 team when he visited Chapel Hill. By 30, many NBA stars say that slam dunking is no longer worth the effort.
Good points, DeanForever. I am just going to wait and see if he comes and reserved judgment on all of these media stories going back and forth until Lawson states that he is coming back.
I think that is smart William. It really doesn’t make much sense to think and talk about players who aren’t on the team. I already made that mistake with both Spencer Hawes and Kevin Love. After those fiascos, I decided not to worry about recruiting too much.
I generally do not talk about recruits until they are confirmed future Tar Heels. What I found interesting about the Wall situation is figuring out what Roy was doing and the sheer dynamics of the darn thing when you have UK, UNC, Duke, Kansas and FL all making bids on the same player. That is a lot of power brought to bear over one 19 year old kid who will play at most 38 games at the chosen university.
^ The fact that Wall lives in Raleigh also makes this a little different.
Q: why has Roy waited so long to get in the game?
A: No one knows, but it could have to do with the “state of our backcourt” as it stands today. I don’t think Roy loves one-and-done players typically (and especially not PGs). At the beginning the season, it would have been hard for Roy to predict with certainty that Ty and Wayne would both leave (i.e., it’s kind of hard to recruit when you dont have any open scholarships) and the development of the other guards.
As it stands, Roy needs backcourt scoring and a one-and-done player could prove valuable until the class of ’10 arrives.
I have to think that with his pedigree, much more was expected of Larry Drew II this year. I think he definitely looked better after March, but some things are worrisome, like his three point shooting percentage, free throw percentage, and offensive rating, all of which, were frankly, not good, finishing far behind Bobby Frasor in all three categories.
I really like his demeanor and I am rooting for him and he was better than Q. Thomas was during Q’s freshman year, so hope is not lost, but Quentin always knew that Ty was coming back.
nah, something doesn’t pass the smell test here.
“Q: why has Roy waited so long to get in the game?”
Is he in the game? I know what’s been said and written but we’ve more or less taken a Sherlock Holmesian approach to this conclusion, and I’m still not sure.
Davis is going to be an animal next season. Were “knock” “knock” going to be so good on the interior. If we can find one guy to shoot well be pretty good.
that’s my point Larry. But if he’s not “in the game”, then he’s playing games. Maybe it’s just me, but I fail to see how there’s any middle ground.
I believe Roy already knows the disposition of Wall and that he is keeping his counsel.
There is a long article over on the Duke Basketball Report about John Wall. Part of it was quoted by one of the posters on this blog. The role of Clifton in the recruiting process is worrying. You have to wonder what advice he is giving John Wall and why he is so adamantly against UNC. I’m sure we don’t know much about the true picture, but based on what I’m reading, I’d rather pass. For all we know this kid could already have signed with an agent in anticipation of coming out next year.
If Lawson goes pro, as most think he will, UNC is perfect for Wall in many respects with a good returning nucleous, great recruits, and a tradition of excellence. I’m not entirely comfortable with displacing Drew II, however, with a guy who will play only one year, most likely. Duke has a similar dilemma, as Smith will be displaced, and could conceivably transfer. Scheyer would move back to shooting guard with no impact on his status. Kentucky is rebuilding, not a good situation for a one-and-doner, and State is just plain bad and clearly a bad choice for Wall. Memphis has a new coach, so the situation there has changed drastically.
I DO NOT want John Wall. The baggage that will come with him, to me, is not worth it. The beauty of the Heels championship this year was that it was with Tar Heels, yes, guys who looked at the NBA, but gave UNC 3/4 years.
I think we’ll be fantastic next year with LD running the point especially late in the year. The Heels will still be playing while John Wall awaits his draft choice.
Does anyone know if there is any news coming out of the awards banquet tonight? The item for which there is at least a faintly realistic hope is that Ellington will announce he is staying.
I don’t expect it, but hope springs eternal………….
Most Improved: (tie) Ellington & Davis
MVP award: (tie) Hansbrough & Lawson.
Lawson made a short speech with no word on future plans.
I find it hard to believe that it is not being broadcast through the university. No news, Rath.
William, thanks again for joining me in sheding some light on Drew. He just doesn’t rank up there. Like I said, if you are going to have a superstar point guard, you should see some fruits of that in his freshmen year. Without a doubt, we knew, based on Lawson’s freshman year, that we had a very good one on our hands.
I do not want to be perceived as someone who doesn’t like his demeanor or flair for the game. He has them both, and I generally think he will improve each season he is with us. But let’s be realistic, he ain’t no Lawson.
With that being said, all we need out of the point guard position next season is to simply beat the press, and give us some outside presence. I think he can manage to do both of those, and hopefully, have a decent assist-to-turnover ratio. Lawson really set an awesome precedent for point guards. Not many will be able to match up with him in that regard. And for the most part, it is better to not try to achieve that much, and just play your game.
C.Michael and thewizard50 — Thanks. And yes, this should be broadcast somewhere, but it probably wouldn’t do me any good in Falls Church, VA.
“Most Improved: (tie) Ellington & Davis”
Freshmen can be considered for most improved, CM?
LarryS — That struck me as odd too. I suppose what they mean is most improved over the season. Indeed, with the award going to a freshman, there’s nothing else it COULD mean.
Back on the Wall thing for a minute:
There is still a big unkown (what is available at UNC) for him if he is really undecided about college. If he goes to UNC, two years would be a much better time frame for him to gain what he wants for the NBA.
At the end of the day, however, the NBA is a job. For most of the season the players go through motions in games (lots of games) and mysteriously the level of play changes toward and during playoffs.
College Basketball (at least now) is not like that. Growing up near a major program, seeing yourself fit in and be a possible key ingredient for serious success; and have ancillary fitness and skill benefits is a tough option to walk away from.
If he were so inclined for DUNIV, he would have already signed. Their situation has been know for quite some time. Same with NCS. Maybe he is waiting for the KU situation to be crystal clear, but he knows all about that for the most part.
So if this all makes sense, Wall may be seriously thinking about Chapel Hill.
Ed Davis rocks. Nothing personal Ed!