Nerlens Noel to Kentucky: 4 Reasons He Can Be the Next Anthony Davis

Nerlens Noel has announced that he will be taking his talents to Lexington to play for John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats (via ESPN). Noel will be coming to a defending national championship team with expectations of being the next Anthony Davis.

Those are some big shoes to fill, especially since Anthony Davis was the national player of the year and the future No.1 pick in the league. Noel and his high top fade have a lot to live up to, but that should be no problem for the No.1 recruit from high school.

With all the hype behind Noel, John Calipari will still be cutting down the nets again this year to become a back-to-back champion.

No. 1 Prospect

Nerlens Noel is the No.1 recruit, and it means a lot to be the No.1 prospect in the 2012 class. Shabazz Muhammad is the No. 2 prospect, which only means that Noel is the real thing.

Anthony Davis was the No. 2 recruit last year, and we saw how his season ended with a national championship. This only means that the sky is the limit for Noel when he puts on the blue and white next season.

This is not John Calipari's first No.1 prospect to come to Kentucky—John Wall came and dominated at Kentucky in 2010. The hype is never too big for Calipari to get players to buy into his system, so Noel will fit right in.

This also might be the best prospect that Calipari has recruited in his many years.

Supporting Class

Nerlens Noel as the No.1 prospect also has a nice supporting class around him with players like Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin and Willie Cauley.

Calipari is a master at putting top name players together and making them work so well. You would be crazy to think that he will not do the same thing with these young players.

With other top players around him, expect Noel to shine like the star he is on the court.

Force on the Inside

Just like Anthony Davis dominated in the middle, so will Nerlens Noel.

Both of the centers stand at 6'10" and are shot-blocking machines. Noel is such a force inside that he earned the nickname "The Eraser" while playing at the Tilton school.

In his senior season at Tilton, Noel averaged 3.9 blocks which should only get better at the next level. Expect for Noel to be spending most of his time in Kentucky protecting the basket and being a one-man zone.

Davis could even see his freshman block record shattered in less than 12 months with Noel as the new owner of the post. According to ESPN, Noel feels the same way about the block record, since that is one of his goals in going to Kentucky after bringing them a championship.

Height of 6'10"

One thing that is different between Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel is their offensive production.

 Davis definitely has a better skill set than Noel right now, but that shouldn't be a problem. They are the same height and the same wingspan, so Calipari can use Noel the same way he used Davis.

Even if Noel doesn't have the same skill set on the offensive side, he will still be a force in the inside against weaker opponents. By midseason, we should see Calipari adjusting to what works best for Noel and the Wildcats, so no worries in Lexington.