Forget for a moment that Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis already fills up a box score with averages of 14.3 points, 10 rebounds, a Division I-leading 4.6 blocks and 1.1 assists.
Forget for a moment that at 6-foot-10, he can make 3-pointers and lead fast breaks as if he were 6-2, or, when he unfolds his rafter-touching arms, can blocks shots like he’s 7-3.
Forget that he’s already filling up Lexington trophy cases with numerous player of the year and team awards.
Imagine what he could do if he weren’t such a team player on one of the better teams that a university known for great teams has produced. Davis and the top-seeded Wildcats will take on Indiana, one of two teams to get the better of them this season, in the Sweet 16 at the Georgia Dome on Friday.
“He just scratched the surface because he doesn’t get a lot of touches relative to what others get,” Turner/CBS NCAA analyst Steve Kerr said. “He’s on such a great team he doesn’t need to shoot as much. That’s intriguing that he’s willing to accept his role and do what’s best for the team.”
Four years ago, before he was projected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and before he was the most sought-after college recruit in the country, he was a pretty good 6-2 point guard on a decent high school team on the southside of Chicago.
Davis played at Perspectives Charter, where athletic director Vinay Mullick said their teams maybe won 30 games. Not 30 in a season, 30 in four seasons.
“He’s always been a team-first person,” said his coach, Cortez Hale. “He’s very unselfish. It’s a big deal to him to take care of the team and fit in. That mentality helps as a guard. As a point guard you have to take care of everyone first. I had to tell him to shoot the ball.”
Hale said he thought Davis was a Division I prospect his first two seasons at Perspectives. He was an aggressive defender and solid rebounder in zone defenses, and maintained his dribbling and shooting skills as he grew a few inches.
But Davis kept growing.
He reached 6-7 as a junior and started receiving attention from major colleges, including Syracuse.
Then Davis kept growing.
He reached 6-10 as a senior. The point guard became a cross between Magic Johnson on offense, still bringing the ball up the court, still making sure his teammates were taken care of, and Dwight Howard on defense, blocking shot after shot, helping cover up for his shorter teammates.
Numerous learning institutions — college and high school — came after him before his senior year. But Davis wouldn’t leave Perspective, with its tiny class of 200-plus students.
He wanted to continue to talk to the middle-schoolers, who wanted to talk basketball. An honor-roll student, Davis wanted to talk academics and the importance of the school’s mission: “A Disciplined Life,” a part of the school’s educational purpose.
He wanted to keep playing jokes on his teammates, putting ticklish things on their faces after they feel asleep so that they would slap themselves awake.
Just as when he was a 6-2 point guard, before he became the Big Man on Campus in every way imaginable, he wanted to stay and take care of his team, his father, Anthony Sr., said.
“We had no gym, no locker room. We have to bus to the gym every day,” Mullick said. “He was committed and wanted to stay here.
“That showed the high character in him.”
Anthony Sr. said his son always has been a giving person. He has a younger twin sister, who Anthony would always share his potato chips with, and an older sister who plays basketball at Daley College in Chicago.
A cousin, Keith Chamberlain, taught Davis his fundamentals in grammar school. His parents taught him to treat people like he wanted to be treated.
No one taught him to be tall.
Anthony Sr. is 6-2. His wife, Erainer, Davis’ mother, is 5-9. Anthony said every time they turned around the summer before Davis’ senior year, their son’s shirt sleeves were too short or his socks were showing because his pants’ legs were too short.
As it became apparent that Davis wasn’t just a recruit, but the recruit, the battles heated up.
The family weighed the pros and cons, and Anthony signed with Kentucky, turning down finalists Syracuse, DePaul and Ohio State.
It didn’t take long for the decision to pay off.
Davis scored 23 points with 10 rebounds, five blocks and three assists in his first game, against Marist. He blocked a short jumper by 6-11 John Henson to preserve the Wildcats’ 73-72 victory over North Carolina in Lexington on Dec. 3.
Opponents have tried many tactics to neutralize him. LSU was perhaps the most aggressive, at one point knocking him to the floor. But Davis didn’t lose his cool, which Mullick said they used as a teaching moment at Perspectives. In fact, Davis has helped himself and his team by rarely getting into in foul trouble this season, picking up five against Old Dominion, and four twice, including against the Hoosiers in the 73-72 loss in Bloomington, Ind., on Dec. 10.
“What is most impressive with him, along with his ability, is he has unbelievable composure and poise for a freshman,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “He fits in when he needs to fit and can be more aggressive. It’s allowed him to be a great piece of the team.”
Davis is more than just a defender and rebounder. Kerr said Davis reminds him of another Calipari big man, former Massachusetts star Marcus Camby. But Kerr said Davis is more skilled on offense.
“He’s a freak of nature at that height, weight and skills,” Kerr said.
