Ed Davis
Everytime I write a post that has something to do with Ed Davis I think about the phrase “what a difference a year makes“. Had he gone last year, hot off the national championship buzz, there is no way anyone could made me believe he would not have been a Top 5 pick in the draft, heck, maybe Top 3. Now, a year later, with an injury to add to the mix, with some rumblings about not being as much of a team player has he could have been, the 6′9″/225 lbs. power forward awaits his destiny, which could be a Top 10 pick to just outside a lottery pick according to the many “in the know”. I have said this many times, us Tar Heels fans didn’t see the best of the sophomore while he was in Chapel Hill, his talents are still to be fully developed and he will be a lot more than what many expect. Basically, as the year wear on we might forget the 2009-10 season on one side but then be upset on what Ed Davis is doing at the next level that he could have done while at UNC.
On the other hand, with a so-so season, where he averaged 17.2 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 3 BPG but was definitely not the dominant player his team needed, the young man should stay away (far, far away) from making comments like he made in an interview to the Indianapolis Star.
“When it comes to long and athletic big men, I’m the best in the draft,” Davis told the paper. “Whatever team drafts me, I’m going to play up to my potential.”
Maybe I am way too old school to be talking about this, but c’mon now Ed, why not use the old “show me, don’t tell me” attitude when it comes to things like these? When I first read that I thought to myself, being a die hard Tar Heel fan “Really? Seriously? C’mon”, that is how bad that sentence came off in my opinion.
If you are what you just said next year people would know it anyways and you would look a lot better for having it shown and not blabbered about it. The reality is that while Davis might be a Top 10 pick when it’s all said and done he might not be a Top 5 big man in this draft right now. Can he develop into the best big man 2010 has? Sure, but I have to say that for that to happen he has to grow in a way very few can even imagine. Had the young man said “I am amongst the top” he would have looked a lot better in all of this!
I have to say it sure does not look like Davis was schooled in presser talk like the rest of the newly arrived NBA’ers.
“Those guys, they do their job, they’re not coaches and they do mock drafts for a reason,” Davis said. “If the coaching staff feels I need to wait or I can play right away, that’s what I go by. Their opinion doesn’t mean anything.”
Do I agree that the so-called experts have their favorites/non-favorites? Sure. I can not stand how Brett Favre does no wrong with a lot of the media, how LBJ has never made mistakes, etc etc. But, on the other hand, you are about to get paid tons and tons of money to play basketball, a sport, a game, and they get paid to report on players and team that play that game. Each of you have to do your work, end of story! Ticking them off is not going to help you in the long run, that is for sure.
There is no denying that Ed Davis can be a very good player at the next level, but this is not something he will do by coming to play without 100% effort in both practice (please no AI references) and games. From day one I am sure that scouts/GMs/teams love his ability to get rebounds and block shots, on the other hand his body is not NBA ready and he will have to keep working hard at it, especially since he will be going up against taller players than himself. On the plus side of things if the power forward gets the ball inside he is quick enough to finish, but due to his strength again, he can be muscled out of the paint, and Davis has a lot to work on when it comes to an outside game. And even his post game needs help, as he does not have many moves and definitely needs to sharpen his hands skills (passing back out and catching the ball well).
So in the end what do I see for the two year Heel? First off, with all the rumors swirling I have a feeling he is going to be a Top 10 player, meaning he is going to a team that will need help from the day the young man signs. All of this will equal to Davis getting bumped around and not having what anyone could call a great first experience in the pro’s it is also going to let him grow physically and mentally into the game while playing it. This is why I was all in favor for the young man to go to the next level, with the way head coach Roy Williams loves to play a long bench Davis is going to play a lot more minutes (provided he does not get into foul trouble every game) in the NBA than he would at UNC. Do not look for this forward to be heading any list when it comes to scoring, but I would not be surprised to see him grabbing plenty of rebounds and working hard on D that the team won’t see him as a liability.
I would love to see him with the Detroit Pistons, but not sure that is going to happen, I believe he will end up in Utah. However, I would say that whatever team takes him Ed Davis will be a double double player by the time his first contract expires and while he is not going to be the “best long and athletic big man” in this draft he is also not going to be the disappointment a lot of so-called experts have made him out to be. We shall all see how it plays out tonight when their names are called!
