Johnny Davis - Wisconsin

[TheDraftGuy]

I am glad people are saying Michael Redd and Khris Middleton.

He is similar to those player archetypes. Furthermore, his trajectory is not unlike their own, as well.

By that, I mean to say that they had poor efficiency in college due to being the sole scoring option on their teams.

As shooting guards, their primary role is to score. And if they have no NBA caliber teammates to help them out, their assist rate will naturally go down and their efficiency will be lower due to them being the entirety of the team's offense.

Michael Redd, Khris Middleton, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell....all similar stories regarding efficiency and no help from teammates. But because they also had a wide variety of offensive moves, the ability to create their own shot, and a winning mentality, that helped them succeed in the NBA.

It will be the same with Johnny Davis. His offense will be something like Michael Redd (a Demar Derozan/Devin Booker hybrid) and his defense will be akin to Middleton. Imo, I'd expect 22-25/5/4.....with one 25-27 ppg season at his peak.

I don't know about you but that sounds like a winner, to me. Definitely not the top player on a championship team but a key guy on a contending team. Simply put, defense wins championships (but only when complimenting good offense).

Should go #5-7 but like Middleton, Mitchell, Redd....I think front offices will overthink things rather than recognize the player archetypes that have proven themselves time and time, again. Thus, he'll probably fall.

Pelicans, Spurs, Knicks, Thunder should think about adding Johnny Davis into their ranks.

[TheDraftGuy]

He is a monster at getting to the line and his 80% FT indicates his shooting % should go up (He was forced to create alot of tough shots). But I am not sure I see the Roy comparison, I didnt watch much WIS but 2.1 APG doesnt scream Brandon Roy to me.

Davis used to be a playmaker in high school. He also did well with the pick and roll since his teammates could run it.

His problem was that teammates could not convert in other ways. He was the only NBA caliber player on his team and his team was also one of the worst three point shooting teams in the NCAA (finishing around #200+ at 3pt FG%). As you can imagine, kick outs (Roy was good at that) become useless in this situation.

Therefore, the assist numbers that you may want from a shooting guard aren't going to be that high.

For the record, Khris Middleton, Anthony Edwards, and Donovan Mitchell faced similar situations which lowered their FG% and assist numbers. Once they came into the league, they displayed an ability to get 4-5 assists which would be good for a star shooting guard.

[The-Power]

For the record, Khris Middleton, Anthony Edwards, and Donovan Mitchell faced similar situations which lowered their FG% and assist numbers. Once they came into the league, they displayed an ability to get 4-5 assists which would be good for a star shooting guard.

To be fair, all of them produced more assists on lower usage in college.

[King Ken]

Supercharged Josh Hart is the right and easy comparison.

I love his fit in OKC, a bit of a win-now pick and a defensive glue guy. Just need to be confident his shooting last year was a result of being miscast into a high usage scorer, his real role will be a excellent glue guy.

Josh Hart is 20 pounds bigger and 8 pounds bigger as a prospect with broader shoulders.

[SelfishPlayer]

He never looked worthy of being in lottery pick consideration at any point to me.

Watch on YouTube

[tmorgan]

Getting your shot is a real skill, but yeah, you gotta make ‘em. Davis may turn into something, but I doubt it’s quickly.

[bucknut]

Getting your shot is a real skill, but yeah, you gotta make ‘em. Davis may turn into something, but I doubt it’s quickly.

i'm a believer in davis because he has footwork like mccollum, that's why i don't like the josh hart comp. Josh hart nothing he does looks dyamic looks like a 3 and d guy and always has.

Davis has something to him, explain to me why mccollum can get his shot off but johnny won't be able too ?

[tmorgan]

Getting your shot is a real skill, but yeah, you gotta make ‘em. Davis may turn into something, but I doubt it’s quickly.

i'm a believer in davis because he has footwork like mccollum, that's why i don't like the josh hart comp. Josh hart nothing he does looks dyamic looks like a 3 and d guy and always has.

Davis has something to him, explain to me why mccollum can get his shot off but johnny won't be able too ?

Uhh, read what I said. JD can get his shot whenever. But he’s gotta make ‘em.

[King Ken]

He's an excellent college basketball player but he's my prediction to be a bust in the NBA. His best comps are all like 25+ pounds bigger. Too small for his playing style, not athletic enough, not a good enough natural shooter to overcome it. I'll probably avoid him in the draft but based on his tape, he's legit good at basketball.

I hate being right.

[King Ken]

People will go as far as to compare him to the 6'7" 230 lb Jimmy Butler. He has more in common with non three point shooting scoring focused guards like Monta Ellis but without the exceptional athleticism that allowed Monta to have a long successful, although criticized by stat geeks, career.

He's an excellent ball player but the NBA is a game of inches and measurements. You can suck ass like Giannis and Anthony Edwards and end up a superstar or you can be a great college player like Culver and end up a bust.

That's who I compared him to, in fact, Davis is better at this stage but Redd is 25 pounds bigger. He can play that same style in the NBA. I remember having this convo about Culver. Can he play this bruising style in the NBA at this size, he couldn't.

As someone who saw Culver as a bust from a mile away, he's nowhere soft like Culver. Davis is a physical player on both ends. What he really needs is a legitimate NBA system in place to give him a defined role. Wisconsin fed-force him the ball and made him score. That won't be his role in the NBA. He'll start off as a guy who play off-ball and hits open 3pt shots, while playing good defense. As he gets more trust from his coaches, they'll allow him to start post up at mid-range, and showcasing more of his on-ball scoring.

This might be an odd statement, but I think Davis plays with the type of confidence that you rarely see from most guys.

I never seen soft attached to Culver at Texas Tech. I am not saying he's a lock to be a bust or a disappointment but even on players I loved as a prospect, size was one of the biggest things to not overlook as that really made me look bad on those takes.

I really feel like Davis and Culver will change projection of these bully ball types forever. If you don't have the size to do it in the NBA, you should be a 2nd rounder with Draymond and Brunson. Those two worked but the risk if they didn't wouldn't cost you much. The risk with Culver and Davis cost you a lot.

[King Ken]

Davis is essentially Booker with better defense. Crafty, intelligent, highly skilled with moxie and confidence. What's not to like? Because there's other great prospects at positions of need for most of these teams I could see him dropping. But what does OKC do if say, they get the 3rd pick with Banchero and Smith off the board. Do they pair him with SGA or take Chet?

[SeattleJazzFan]

He's an excellent college basketball player but he's my prediction to be a bust in the NBA. His best comps are all like 25+ pounds bigger. Too small for his playing style, not athletic enough, not a good enough natural shooter to overcome it. I'll probably avoid him in the draft but based on his tape, he's legit good at basketball.

I hate being right.

lol @ the idea that 10 games into their rookie season we can pretend we were right about any prospect. but you do you - hehe