Ed Davis Goes Pro Before the NBA Goes on Strike
by T.H. on Apr 12, 2010 10:40 PM EDT
in Basketball
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PrintIn a move that was expected from a good portion of Carolina fans, Ed Davis announced today that he's forgoing the rest of his college eligibility to enter the NBA draft. According to his father, the upcoming NBA contract negotiations influenced the decision:
"This was a tough decision for him, because he loves Carolina, loves his teammates,'' Terry Davis, a former NBA player, said in a phone interview. "But with a possible lockout the next year, that could set him back another year. And he wanted to fulfill his dream."
This isn't the first time events in the NBA has pushed a Carolina player into the draft. Marvin Williams left after his freshman year in part because of discussions of an NBA policy that eventually became the NBA one-and-done rule.
Davis got some grief this season for his lack of leadership and not fully filling the void left by Tyler Hansbrough before his wrist injury took him out for the season. The fact that he wasn't part of the teams resurgence in the NIT may lull some folks into thinking he won't be missed, but with his departure and Thompson's graduation, UNC suddenly goes from being overstocked in the paint to being rather thin. Henson and Zeller should come into their own, but we may be looking at the most perimeter-oriented UNC team in over a decade.
Assuming he's drafted, Davis will be the 97th Tar Heel drafted by the NBA, and should he go in the first round the 40th UNC player to do so. There are currently 14 Carolina players in the NBA.
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Starting Five looks something like...
Drew II ducks tomatoes
Strickland
Barnes
Henson
Zeller
That’s not a bad lineup by any stretch of the imagination. I only wonder what Roy and company are going to do with the extra scholarship. Make a run at CJ Leslie, perhaps? (although I think he’s long gone for Kentucky)
I wish Ed well
but I think he’s disappointed me more than any other player I can recall. I thought after the way he looked his freshman year that he was going to be a POY/Naismith candidate this year. Perhaps I was overly optimistic, but I still think he has abilities that could allow him to be a dominate player at the college level. I just don’t think his heart was in it. So thanks for your play for UNC, Ed, and good luck at the next level.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then give up. There's no use in being a damn fool about it." ---W.C. Fields
It's hard to dominate at the college level
when your PG (and backcourt in general) is subpar. Feeding the ball into the post was a horrible adventure entering into conference play as well as the constant defensive attention given to the frontcourt because the guards couldn’t hit a jumper or break down the defense effectively.
I’m banking that Drew II drastically improves next year given a legit backup that can push him for minutes, but he didn’t help Easy Ed at all this season.
(Oh, and I wish Ed well in the NBA.)
I'm sick of everything being tossed at Drew's feet
I thought Drew played well enough for this team to make the NCAA. The reason this team lost is because of the FRONT COURT, not the back court. Remember, we were supposed to be a dominant Front court team, with six players over 6’8". Despite that this front line struggled to make layups, shied away from dunks, struggled to catch passes, block out or hustle for rebounds. Yes the guards didn’t have a great season, but they weren’t supposed to be the focus of this team. This team’s strength was supposed to be up front and it never showed up.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then give up. There's no use in being a damn fool about it." ---W.C. Fields
Now we're debating
the ‘chicken-and-egg’ question that’ll last until football season starts or when ‘Late Night with Roy’ tips off featuring Barnes and Co.
Victim of College Game
I see your point but I think a lot of Ed’s struggles were due to the nature of the college game. Coaches only have 20 hours a week to work with talent and the emphasis on guard play and lack of big men coaching worked in concert to stunt his expected growth.
At the NBA level he’ll get better coaching, more 1 on 1 coaching and as a multimillion dollar investment we’ll see him grow into more of a player.
And save me the college coaching is better than NBA coaching because my point is at the individual level, not on the team or wins level. Outside of Bill Guthridge I’d take an NBA big man coach just about any day. I’m looking forward to seeing Ed develop, he’s built more for the NBA hybrid 4 spot so watching him develop a jumper will be interesting.
Yeah BoYeeEEeeE
by InTheBleachers on Apr 13, 2010 8:37 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Ed still needs to expand his game beyond rebounding and shot blocking and jump/hook shots 4 feet from the basket. He needs some kind of a short to mid-range jumper and definitely needs to work on defensive positioning, particularly since he’ll probably be a tweener at the NBA level (guarding 3s and 4s). That and some S & C work (which is doubly critical because of the injury). Versatility is important. This will also be a challenge to his supposed low work ethic label that’s been thrown around by some analysts.
I agree about the coaching at the NBA level, but the key is getting in with the right franchise. For every good coach/GM/organization, there are 2-3 bad ones and the reason some teams like the Clippers and Knicks always pick in the lottery is because they can’t draft and develop their picks. To those who do say that NCAA coaching is better than NBA coaching, I think with the right school, that may be the case.
He has the tools, but I think he still is behind the development curve of where you’d think he’d be at this point in his career.
That being said, I wish him nothing but the best.
I'm on the Fence About Coaching
I’ve heard arguments both ways, and it’s true he’ll have more time devoted to practicing in the pros. College programs seem to have more control over a players’ lifestyle however, and some college players fail in the pros just because they’re expected to be adults and don’t have the motivation backing them up.
I agree though, the franchise is incredibly important.
and don’t have the motivation backing them up.
I always think of Shammond Williams as a great example of someone who worked so hard not only in college but in the pros and carved out a nice little career when in reality, he probably had no business playing in the NBA versus say Joe Forte, uber talented but had minimal motivation and even less common sense.
Ed Davis lies somewhere in between to me. He’s not a complete head case or immature like Forte, but he’s not a gym rat, film junkie like Shammond was, which to me now breaks down to where he ends up and how much time he’ll be allowed to develop. In a way, ending up later in the lottery to a team on the cusp of the playoffs may be better than a Clippers, Knicks, Detroit kinda team that’s in disarray.
Do you think there is a possibility he won't get drafted
Assuming he’s drafted, Davis will be the 97th Tar Heel drafted by the NBA, and should he go in the first round the 40th UNC player to do so
.
"I could never be a thug, they don't dress this well." - Malice
by Julius Coxswain on Apr 13, 2010 9:48 AM EDT reply actions
Won't Fall Below 15
Barring injury or just an awful showing he won’t drop below 15. I think TH was just prefacing the total tallies with that conditional.
Yeah BoYeeEEeeE
by InTheBleachers on Apr 13, 2010 10:59 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
You Never Know
He could lose both arms in a tragic woodworking accident or something. Or all the NBA GM’s could simultaneously lose all common sense and draft only 40 year-old Ecuadorians. I don’t think it’s a large possibility, but there’s no reason to tempt fate.
Could have gone last year
So I guess it’s good we had him back for the half-year we did. If his info is telling him that he’ll be drafted in the lottery, I can’t blame the guy. It would have been nice to have his rebounding and shot-blocking in the lineup next year but we should be fine with Henson, Zeller and the Wears in the post. Now we just need all of those boys to eat a sandwich. Or two. Or seven.
regarding weight training
Roy doesn’t put much emphasis on gaining size or strength. The players whose bodies have evolved during his stint, most notably Hansbrough and Reyshawn Terry took it upon themselves to add that bulk. Hansbrough was a workout guy from day one and I remember Terry eating with us as freshman and sort of picking our brain about how we were getting bigger during and out of season while he wasn’t gaining much weight.
If Coach C could get ahold of Henson or Zeller we’d see some serious growth in size/strength this offseason. Roy likes his guys lean but I’d like to see some size to avoid getting pushed around.
Yeah BoYeeEEeeE
by InTheBleachers on Apr 15, 2010 6:26 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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