Kentucky’s Anthony Davis is Who We Thought He was Against Transylvania: Fans Take

To paraphrase Coach Dennis Green, Anthony Davis is who we thought he was. Coming in, he was thought to be a strong rebounder and good shot blocker who will average around 8-10 points a game. He pretty much lived up to that against Transylvania.

Davis finished the game with six points (hitting two of his seven shots), eight boards, and a whopping eight blocks in 29 minutes. He may not be an offensive dynamo right now (and he may never be) but most reasonable Kentucky fans will be happy with Davis' game. Here is what I noticed about Davis in the game against Transylvania.

Rebounding machine

This guy is going to pull down a lot of rebounds this season. His length alone will get him plenty. Right now, he looks like a forward playing center. As time goes on, he will get more comfortable. Coach Cal will need to work with him on boxing out like a center and improving his footwork. He should average close to 10 rebounds a game this season.

Davis is also exceptional at hitting the outlet after a defensive rebound. Davis quickly grabs the ball and looks to get the break started immediately by taking off or hitting one of the guards.

Scorer

Right now, his defensive contributions are going to outweigh his offensive output. Davis needs to work on his post moves and positioning in the paint. As he gains experience in the center spot, he will be fine. A go to shot like a jump hook might go a long way in becoming a consistent double-digit point per game scorer.

Shot blocker

One thing that is obvious is that he is a beast at blocking shots. Eight blocks is crazy but the tallest Transylvania player is 6'4" so don't expect that to happen every night. By the way, the Kentucky blocked shot record is held by Melvin Turpin.* Way back in the 82-83 season, Turpin swatted 83 shots in just 31 games. Last season, Terrence Jones claimed the seventh spot on that list with 72 in 38 games. Is it too early to think that Davis could catch Turpin?

*Of course, they didn't keep track of blocked shots in the old days. Bill Spivey was a beast in all phases of the game and might have gotten more than 83 blocks in one or both of his two seasons.

Outlook

Davis does not need to be a scorer for the Cats. He may not score more than eight per game. They will get plenty of scoring from a few of the other players. In last night's game, he seemed timid at times and didn't always attack the rim. He is still a freshman playing his first minutes in front of a packed house while dealing with a crowd of smaller defenders getting up under him and slapping at the ball whenever he got his hands on it.

As he adjusts to his position and to the college game, Davis will prove that he is the real deal.

Having grown up in Kentucky, I am a lifelong Kentucky Wildcat fan. You can follow me on Twitter here. Still want more? Go to my blog.

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