The Toronto Raptors used the 13th pick in the NBA draft to select Ed Davis who will be introduced to media and the city later today. This pick came as a surprise to me and I quickly scrambled to try to learn as much as I could about the kid. He comes from a storied college program that had a rough year (which in turn probably led to his stock falling), and has been coached by one of the best. In the process of trying to learn more about Davis, I reached out to a blogger who devotes his site to UNC sports. AEM from The5thcorner.com agreed to answer some questions for me and I thought I would share his responses to help the rabid Raptors fanbase get to know him a little better.
HoH: It’s well documented that Davis is raw offensively. From your time following him as a college pro, what has he shown in terms of Basketball IQ and willingness to learn?
AEM: Having had a dad, Terry Davis, that played the game for a decade will help teach anyone about the game, add to that having a Hall of Fame head coach like Roy Williams, and I would say that as far as basketball IQ, Ed Davis has plenty of it. I am also of the opinion that the sophomore out of Richmond, VA. has all the willingness in the world to learn, since the National Basketball Association is where he was meant to be and now he is going to do anything and everything in order to stay in it. Having said all of that the 6’9″ power forward might be facing a battle he can never win: replacing someone like Chris Bosh.
The pressure of being the one coming in for an exiting All-Star is not going to be easy. The fan base needs to realize that Ed Davis is not Chris Bosh and is not going to be anywhere close to it. I see Davis as a good role-player for a team that has a true leader/star, which might be something that Toronto is lacking right now.
HoH: Its always easier to find about a player on the court but how was his reputation and demeanor off it?
AEM: In his second year some rumors came up about the young man not being a perfect team mate. Mostly circling around him always talking about his father playing in the NBA and how he was going to go there when the season was done. I talked to a couple of people close to the program and all agreed that this would not have been the big deal it was if not for the fact that the Tar Heels had a below average season.
In his first year, the one where North Carolina won it all, nothing like this came out. I have to assume a lot of this is a mixture of a young man choosing to stay an extra year and then seeing that if he had left a year earlier it would have been best. I am not defending this in any way, I am just thinking that if the Heels had the year they should of had this would be a non-issue.
Having watched the whole season I can say that the first couple of games after Ed broke his wrist the forward was not standing up when team mates were coming on/off the bench, he was slow to get up when the team huddled in time outs, everytime a camera was on him he definitely didn’t look like he was into the situation. That changed after a few games, and the reason for this could be one of two: either he got over the fact he was hurt and began to live past it and get back into the team mode or he was told to get with the program. Once again I do give him the benefit of the doubt having saw how he handled himself during the NIT run, looking like a true team mate with the rest of the guys.
HoH: Which NBA player do you think his game is most comparable to?
AEM: If I had to make the comparison right now, based on how good Davis can be, I would see him as an Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks). Cutting to the chase of it, I would not be one bit stunned if Davis was to be a double double player for the Raptors in his second or third year in the league. What will get him playing time in the mean time is the fact that he can play some good defense having good fundamentals on that side of the ball and being able to shot block as good as anyone in this class.
HoH: Now that you broke down who he compares to most in the NBA, what do you think his potential is?
AEM: A great role player. Someone that you might not see as the player that will change your franchise but will give you a double double each night while giving SportsCenter high light reel material thanks to his blocks. Under a good head coach Ed Davis can only improve, as I have said many times over in my posts the fan base at UNC never got to see the best of this young man. I am not sure if this makes sense but what I see in Ed Davis is someone that can be able to help the Raptors as long as not too much is put on his shoulders.
HoH: There have been rumblings that he is soft at times. What do you think he needs to work on the most?
AEM: More than soft, which he can sometimes be, I think that Ed Davis needs to still discover what he can truly do on the offensive side of the ball. Davis needs to develop some good moves around the post, but in order to do that his footwork and post moves have to improve. Even worst the defenders know that outside of the paint the young man has nearly no game. His mid-range game is almost nonexistent, his jump shot is a long way away from being NBA ready, and all of this makes it harder for him to be as good as he could be in the low post.
HoH: Lastly, what is your favorite memory of him during his time at UNC?
AEM: Of course him in the title game in his freshman year comes to mind. Watching him get six blocks against Duke (in a game where he didn’t play the whole game as he broke his wrist in it) was also a great memory, but if I have to say it would have to be the 2009 ACC Tourney, where he played well (averaging over 21 minutes per game), having his first double figure scoring game since the pre-ACC part of the schedule and did great on the boards, including seven offensives ones (in 2 games).
Again, I want to thank AEM from The5thcorner for agreeing to give us a little insight on the newest addition to the Toronto Raptors. Make sure you check out his site and you can also follow him on twitter @A_E_M .
