I have tried to refrain from chiming in but think it’s time to give some input to adjust expectation level. I had the chance to watch Austin Davis extensively over 4 days at the Michigan Elite 25. This is essentially a camp for the top 25 players for each class in Michigan. Without going in to much detail, Davis struggled mightily vs legit comp, particularly on the defensive end. He REALLY struggled in defending PnR situations, and struggled to run the floor in many instances. He can be an effective back to the basket player when catching the ball on the block, but he really struggles to seal off his defender when they move. The ball was repeatedly stolen on the entry pass because Davis simply would not move laterally to seal off his man.
In sum, Doyle runs the floor MUCH better than Davis. I would not expect Davis to be a rotational player for a few years at minimum, and quite frankly, I don’t think he’ll ever be even an average defender. Unfortunately, God just didn’t bless Davis with the necessary physical tools.
Ha, my dad was at that Elite 25 camp and talked to Davis. He was shocked when Davis mentioned that he was going to Michigan. Next time we talked he asked me if that was really true.
Yeah, I know the tendency of recruiting analysts/bloggers is to highlight the good and omit the bad…have to do that in order to get access to recruits and their parents in terms of interviews and the latest scoop, but I don’t think there was any question whatsoever to those in attendance that Davis struggled in a major way. If you think my assessment above is a bit harsh, you should’ve heard some of the comments by local coaches (who served as camp instructors/refs) and fellow Elite 25 campers…
That’s what happens when we get guys around 150 and other big ten teams get guys in the top 50, Or top 20 swanigan, Davis, stone, Bryant. It’s almost not fair to donnal/Doyle to have to continuously play guys that are much better than them. We throw out 150s and they bring top 50s.
I think generally speaking, the difference is time…and we don’t have that. When you get guys like Donnal, Doyle, Wilson, etc., its going to take them 2-3 years before they are average B10 players, whereas guys like Stone, Davis, etc are essentially ready from day 1.
The way to solve this is through athleticism IMO. A guy that has athleticism just has more margin for error, whereas a guy with limited athleticism and strength has to know the system/reads perfectly in order to not be exploited because the lack of physical tools doesn’t allow those type of guys to recover from a mistake. If you’re asking guys like Donnal, Doyle, Wilson, etc. to play as underclassmen, its generally not going to go very well because those guys simply weren’t good athletes, nor were they very skilled in HS…it takes those guys 2-3 years to be just serviceable.
Adding Davis to a class with Teske when only 1 guy plays at a time will forvever be one of the more baffling recruiting decisions I can remember. Hopefully B knows he has 2 bigs planning to leave.
Problem is that JB recruited quantity instead of quality…which really makes no sense given that he only plays an 8 man rotation. I think most will (finally) admit that JB mismanaged the roster terribly in terms of balance and talent needs. He should have saved a scholarship in 14, 15, and 16…probably wouldn’t be in the jam we are right now if he just saves a scholly 2 out of the 3 years.
Here is how they need to asses, who do we have when will they make an impact where will they fit. Using those questions I am still trying to see how Austin Davis fits. That is a terrible offer and it puts us in a scholarship jam. I just think he does not have much talent and will get killed at a high level.
I would love to hear JB’s rationale for the big man situation on the roster. I know we never will. Was he expecting attrition that never materialized? It just makes no sense.
It really doesn’t make sense, at all. As it stands we will have 6 guys that only play the 5 spot. Why not get another wing or two instead of the exact same guy in 6 different bodies to play center. The recruiting is becoming a giant gamble and it’s not working at all. We need guys who can play, not guys who we hope we can turn into guys that can play.