NCAA Tournament 2012: Enforcer Anthony Davis Makes Kentucky the Favorites

If you haven't already heard, Kentucky's Anthony Davis is a college basketball enforcer of the highest order, and his shot-blocking prowess makes Kentucky the favorites to win the National Championship.

At this point in the season, Davis has already blocked 157 shots (4.6 a game), prompting Florida coach Billy Donovan to comment: 

"

There has never been a shot-blocker like him...As a coach, when you are preparing for Kentucky, you can talk about Davis and his shot-blocking ability.

But it’s one of those things, unless you have played against it a couple times, it really can take you off-guard. Because you think you can get the ball up on the glass, you think you can get it over him, and that’s the worst thing.

"

Unfortunately for the teams facing Kentucky in the upcoming tournament, they won't have a couple of games to get used to Davis' abilities. 

It's not just the sheer quantity of his blocks that is amazing, either. Davis' prowess to block shots comes from his amazing 7'4" wing-span and his athletic ability. 

He often gets beat off the dribble by smaller, quicker opponents only to swat the ball from behind, thwarting any chance of a score.

The best part about Davis is that he's just a freshman, and at the tender age of 19 he's drawing comparisons to David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing, all legends of the college game.

Davis has the tendency to make his opponents start to fear shooting the ball for fear of getting swatted, which can quickly turn into a massive psychological advantage for Kentucky.

Kentucky faces the winner of Miss Valley State and Western Kentucky in the opening round of the tournament, and they should have little trouble dispatching the either school's inferior team. 

Davis will be hanging around the basket, just waiting to lay the smack down on anyone foolish enough to bring it. 

Davis will be one of the players I'm most looking forward to watching throughout the tournament, and I can't wait to see what he's going to do on the way to a National Championship.

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