Anthony Davis: Former Kentucky Star Will Be NBA Stud from Day 1
Anthony Davis will transform from college basketball superstar to a force in the NBA without a glimmer of hesitation. Davis will immediately justify his No. 1 selection in this year's draft.
Davis put up 14.3 points, hauled down 10 boards and stuffed 4.7 shots per game last year for the Wildcats. He is a game-changing threat on both ends of the court with the high motor to match his superb skill level.
Skills at the college level do not always translate to the pros. College stars sometimes get to the pros and realize shortcomings that lesser athletes were not able to expose. These players fizzle out rather quickly.
Davis is not one of those guys. His skills will translate directly to the NBA with flawless precision.
Let's take a look at what Davis brings to the table and why those skills will impact the NBA immediately.
Davis' Skill Set
Davis is an explosive athlete on both ends of the court. His 7'3'' wingspan makes him an extremely intimidating shot-blocker and his guard-like skills creates mismatches on the offensive end.
Highly-touted freshman do not always impact college basketball as expected. Davis won multiple National Player of the Year awards and was the 2012 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He impacted multiple facets of nearly every game he played in.
Davis was a guard until midway through his high-school career. He still possesses many of those same skills and uses them to draw bigger, slower defenders away from the paint.
He has a developing face-up game with range extending out to the three-point line.
Davis' low-post repertoire is still raw; however, his length and skill ooze upside. If he develops a go-to array of back-to-the-basket moves, Davis will be virtually unguardable.
Defense translates rather easily to the next level. His length is not going to go away so shots will always be swatted from his general area.
Why Davis' Skills Will Translate Right Away
Rebounding, defense and solid scoring will all happen immediately for Davis. It will take him a few years to fill out physically, but every necessary skill is there for the big man to succeed in his rookie season.
Davis' rail-thin frame is a common argument against his NBA success. He will probably always be a lanky player, but Davis must add muscle the same way Kevin Garnett did when he arrived in 1995.
He has a solid head on his shoulders, wants to get better and has enough of a perimeter game to give him time to do so. He does not handle the ball well enough to play small forward, but he can hide his physical weakness by taking other power forwards outside of the paint.
Success in the NBA has a lot to do with matchups on the team, and individual level. Davis' combination of size, speed and raw talent will make him a frightening matchup for most NBA forwards.
Davis' position is not set in stone, and he is probably not going to land with a favorable franchise, but his abilities will make one NBA franchise ecstatic from the get-go.
He is a rare athlete with a unique skill spectrum. Davis will be an All-Star for years to come.
