Mike Davis and Anthony Thompson

[PTownHawkeye]

I caught the Illinois vs Clemson game last night and came away with several opinions about this year's Fighting Illini team. The strongest revolves around Mike Davis.

There are a lot of parallels between Davis and a certain Bradley player...a talented young basketball player on the offensive end, tall and long (6'10), very lean/skinny despite the insistence that he gained significant weight since arriving on campus, and came in with high expectations. I would love for it to turn out that Anthony Thompson plays a similar game, which we will see for the first time at length on Sunday.

Upside: Davis' ability to finish within 6-12 feet of the basket was downright impressive. He took the game over on 2 different occasions with quick and decisive shots, and finished with 28 points. From jump hooks to soft bank shots, to a driving two handed monster dunk in traffic, all I could think about was how much potential he will have if he puts on some weight.

Downside: Defensively, he was average at best. His positioning and footwork need improvement and Clemson scored some easy baskets due to this. I also wasn't terribly impressed with his rebounding...when he pulled down boards, the ball typically came right to him. He also seemed to get fatigued fairly easily.

I hope AT turns out to be a very similar player, although I would trade a little offense for defense in a perfect world.

[Murph]

Excellent scouting report. Another thing on Davis, man can he can run the floor, many of his baskets were because of his hustle.

[BUFAN]

Illinois should not have lost that game...

[Da Coach]

Davis is very much improved over last year, but last night he was the most talented player on the floor for the Illini. I also noticed he has defensive liabilities, and that ultimately contributed to Illinois losing the game. They lead down the stretch, but then allowed Clemson to score on 8 of their last 10 possessions to turn a deficit into a win. That is extraordinary in such a close game, for the home team to allow so many easy baskets in the last couple minutes of the game.
But Davis also did keep Illinois in the game all night with his offense.

Most may not know this, and it was never publicized, but Davis was planning on going to a prep school after high school, so recruiters backed off. Then, unexpectedly, he was able to qualify in the summer of 2007, and only a couple D1 schools with available scholarships were on top of him. One was Bradley, and if Bruce Weber had not offered Davis, there is a possibility he might be a sophomore at Bradley now, instead of Illinois.
He would have really look good with Bradley last year and this year!

[RedbirdFan21]

Davis is very much improved over last year, but last night he was the most talented player on the floor for the Illini. I also noticed he has defensive liabilities, and that ultimately contributed to Illinois losing the game. They lead down the stretch, but then allowed Clemson to score on 8 of their last 10 possessions to turn a deficit into a win. That is extraordinary in such a close game, for the home team to allow so many easy baskets in the last couple minutes of the game.
But Davis also did keep Illinois in the game all night with his offense.

Most may not know this, and it was never publicized, but Davis was planning on going to a prep school after high school, so recruiters backed off. Then, unexpectedly, he was able to qualify in the summer of 2007, and only a couple D1 schools with available scholarships were on top of him. One was Bradley, and if Bruce Weber had not offered Davis, there is a possibility he might be a sophomore at Bradley now, instead of Illinois.
He would have really look good with Bradley last year and this year!

While I am not disagreeing with you, because he certainly could have ended up at BU and been a sophomore at BU, some friends of mine that are Illini Fans said the he was a steal for THEM because he was being recruited by Big East and ACC schools, but decided to go the Prep route...

Then Weber convinced him to come to U of I since he would have a chance to play early, under a (fairily) successful D-I coach, instead of a prep school coach. While Prep School can help develop a player, why not go to a major school and contribute right away, while getting better coaching as well. Apparently his argument worked.

He literally showed up on U of I's campus 5 days before fall classes started last year.

I did not check into his recruiting to see if he was being recruited by major schools, but if it is true that Illinois got him as a STEAL... I think it would be hard to imagine BU competing with the major schools as well.

Who knows though really... just what I heard...

[real fan]

It is hard for me to judge what type of player A.Thompson could be because he has not played enough minutes yet; hopefully he is working harder in practice so he will earn the chance to play more as I believe the only thing holding him back is his work ethic.

[SFP]

I think it would be hard to imagine BU competing with the major schools as well.

Who knows though really... just what I heard...

RedbirdFan you are not the only one who thinks this there are others on this board that feel this way but the one person I am glad that feels that he can compete in the recruiting wars against the BCS is JL. Can we compete with them straight up. Probably not but there are other things we can offer that the BCS cannot. Can we compete head to head with the likes of Duke, UCLA, NC? That's an easy no but we are not going after those kids. Can we compete with the likes of Marquette, Oregon and Alabama? We are getting there with a lot of hard work. Gonzaga seems to be able to pick up some great players every year, so why not us. Everyone say someone else has to be recruiting that guy, we probably do not have a chance. Well I say, we are that someone else!

Let's not sell our self short and for that matter the whole Valley. BU has a lot of plusses that can carry the day in recruiting battles. Can we say 10K in attendance, spanking new grade A facilities, the ability to take a program to the stratosphere, graduation from a top regional school, a very loyal fan base, players who are playing in the next level and a coach that truly cares about his players development as a player and as a human being. This may not carry weight with 50% of the top recruits but I bet you there are enough out there that we have a fighting chance to pick some off.

I'm a Ted Williams type of guy,"It is better to have swung and miss then not to have swung at all."

[Dubl R 1]

I, like P-Town Hawkeye, was watching Mike Davis play last night, and kept thinking about AT. Davis is woefully thin as well, but athleticism and coordination go along way, don't know if AT has the other abilities to make up for his apparent lack of muscle, as we havn't seen him enough.

I also was reminded of AT while watching the Purdue-Duke game. Purdue had a player, can't remember his name, at center who was very thin, but was doing pretty well.

[Da Coach]

While I am not disagreeing with you, because he certainly could have ended up at BU and been a sophomore at BU, some friends of mine that are Illini Fans said the he was a steal for THEM because he was being recruited by Big East and ACC schools, but decided to go the Prep route...

Then Weber convinced him to come to U of I since he would have a chance to play early, under a (fairily) successful D-I coach, instead of a prep school coach. While Prep School can help develop a player, why not go to a major school and contribute right away, while getting better coaching as well. Apparently his argument worked.

He literally showed up on U of I's campus 5 days before fall classes started last year.

I did not check into his recruiting to see if he was being recruited by major schools, but if it is true that Illinois got him as a STEAL... I think it would be hard to imagine BU competing with the major schools as well.

Who knows though really... just what I heard...

You can choose to believe it or not, but it is true.
Some of the Bradleyfans.com members are aware of this from some PM's I sent out last summer. He was one of a couple "mystery recruits" we discussed.
I have spoken with someone involved with recruiting Davis. At one point he was seriously considering Bradley, and BU thought they would get him.
The Big East and ACC offers had all dried up, as questions of his eligibility dragged into the summer of '07. Most of those offers wanted him to redshirt because he was so skinny; he would not have played his first year if he had gone to the ACC or Big East. Those schools that were recruiting him moved on and filled their scholarships with other players. When he finally did pass his SAT late, not many schools were aware of it, and very few still had open scholarships. The BU coaches were connected to someone out east who lead to them getting involved.

[Da Coach]

By the way, though most of the discussion about Bradley's "mystery recruit" was off the board, and by way of blogs and PMs, here were a couple references posted on the board about a "mystery recruit" that a couple members of this board were aware of.
He was described as a 6'7" forward with skills similar to Zach Andrews, and awaiting word on late qualification. I later learned this was referring to Mike Davis.-

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3929

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=38320#post38320

And Mike Davis was a bit more "under the radar" than Redbirdfan 21 might suggest. Here was Scout's profile, and he was rated only 1-star!-

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=3049363

http://illinois.scout.com/a.z?s=169&...%2f628584.html

And here is Rivals profile showing his only other offers were from College of Charleston, South Florida, and Auburn- not exctly the cream of the Big East or ACC.-

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=53847

Another Rivals article from April, 2007, saying he needed a year of prep school to develop--

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=910&CID=668175

April 27, 2007
In the gym with developing F Mike Davis
One of the top, uncommitted high school senior basketball players in the DC area is T.C. Williams' talented 6-8 forward Mike Davis.

Davis was recently selected Second Team All-Met by the Washington Post after averaging 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots for the Titans. T.C. Williams won the Northern Virginia AAA Championship and finished with a 25-4 record and was ranked No. 7 in the DC area by the Post.

Davis is a long, angular 6'8" 190 pound center/forward for the Titans. He has a nice blend of inside/outside skills and likely projects as a "combo forward" at the college level. Davis was a standout at Hayfield HS in Northern Virginia before transferring to T.C. Williams for his senior season.

Davis was selected to play for the DC All-Stars in the Capital Classic at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center on April 5. MdVarsity.com attended a practice at DeMatha HS two days before the Capital Classic and interviewed him. Davis, a very congenial and engaging young man, told us that he was "really excited to be playing in the Capital Classic. I will be playing with some great players and against some great players. It is an honor to be in the game, it is a great experience, and good exposure, so, yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

Although Davis will likely take a prep year in 2007-2008, he is already getting a lot of interest from several high D-I colleges. "Right now, I'd say my favorites are Maryland, Wake Forest, Illinois, Auburn … I also like West Virginia, but we'll have to see with their head coach maybe leaving for Michigan. I'm looking for a school where the basketball program has a family atmosphere, where the coaches and players all get along. I want to go to a place with good academics, a nice campus. I want a college where the whole academic, basketball, social parts all just feel comfortable for me. I'll be looking at coaches, style of play, you know, those kinds of things."

Mike told us that he would like to major in Computer Engineering in college.

Davis said that he has not taken any official recruiting visits yet. He said that Auburn has already offered him a scholarship and that Maryland and Wake Forest are showing increasing interest. "(Maryland assistant Coach) Chuck Driesell has been out to see me play and (Head Coach) Gary Williams is supposed to see me workout this week."

Davis had previously played AAU ball with Team DC Assault. He told us that he will be playing in some events this spring and summer with an AAU squad out of Florida. Mike said that he might be playing in the local Charlie Weber event in DC on the weekend of April 6-8.

Mike's father, Steve Davis, was at the practice at DeMatha and he told MdVarsity.com that his son is "likely" to attend South Kent Prep in Connecticut next year. South Kent is one of the top prep hoops programs in the country with a top flight staff and they annually play a very ambitious national schedule.

"It should be a good experience for Mike if he goes there," said his father."He had a real good year at T.C. (Williams), but he didn't get quite the experience and exposure that you would get at South Kent. It is a good school with a good set-up for the kids, they play a great schedule. It will give Mike a year to mature physically and work on his game."

Mike told us that he hopes to "…be a '3' (small forward), maybe a 'combo' forward in college. I'm going to be working on my ball handling, rebounding, and my consistency with my outside shot this off-season. I probably need to get a little stronger, physically, for my rebounding and defense, but I think I have the skills to be a small forward, maybe combo a bit, in college."

The bet here is that with a year of prep school, Mike Davis will be a very hot recruiting target in 2008

[SaintLouBrave22]

I can understand the comparison a little, but I think Davis is quite a bit more athletic than what I've seen from Thompson both now and when he was in h.s.

Not to say AT doesn't have talent...I just think Davis' game has been developed a bit further at this point...

[Disturbed]

I think the only thing Mike Davis and Anthony Thompson have in common are that they are both African-American and tall. I've seen enough of AT to say that he has about 20% of the skills of Mike Davis. Not saying that he can't improve, but right now this is a really poor comparison. MD averages nearly a double double. AT would've been really lost trying to defend Clemson's post players last night, let alone score 28 points against them.

[Murph]

AT would've been really lost trying to defend Clemson's post players last night, let alone score 28 points against them.

You mean like Tisdale, 10 minutes no points no rebounds 3 fouls and 2 turnovers.

[Dubl R 1]

Fair enough. I admit I havn't seen enough of AT play. I did not see him play in HS. I've seen and/or been to every BU game this year and still havn't seen enough of him to make a good comparison between AT and anyone really.

[SFP]

I think the only thing Mike Davis and Anthony Thompson have in common are that they are both African-American and tall. I've seen enough of AT to say that he has about 20% of the skills of Mike Davis. Not saying that he can't improve, but right now this is a really poor comparison. MD averages nearly a double double. AT would've been really lost trying to defend Clemson's post players last night, let alone score 28 points against them.

Before I take your word as the truth, please let me know where you have seen AT play any length of time and your basketball knowledge in order for you to make those judgments.