Jamichael Davis was recognized as 20 under-the-radar breakout players by Jon Rothstein

[Scangg]

Davis's defense was why he was always going to be part of the plan this year despite what many said during the off season

Watch Davis play defense and its not hard to wonder why Pike likes him

 

[Shelby65]

The offense is the thing.

Driving into 3 guys and throwing it off the backboard was fine last year because the team wasn't going anywhere.

But if that's happening with Ace and Dylan standing around watching or Hayes/Martini open for a 3pt shot - that's a major problem.

Agree. Selfish. Couldn’t stand watching that playground garbage.

 

[mildone]

Davis's defense was why he was always going to be part of the plan this year despite what many said during the off season

Watch Davis play defense and its not hard to wonder why Pike likes him

Late night. Excellent!

 

[higgins3]

Not seeing it with JMike yet. I hope it comes together because scrappy players are great to root for. His defense is average to average +. Biggest thing that he needs is knowing when to continue drive versus pass out.

Hopefully we see his improvement. He is a strong and able kid.

 

[lion1983]

Not seeing it with JMike yet. I hope it comes together because scrappy players are great to root for. His defense is average to average +. Biggest thing that he needs is knowing when to continue drive versus pass out.

Hopefully we see his improvement. He is a strong and able kid.

No, Davis' defense is not "average to average +", it is exceptional. Davis is a tremendous on-ball perimeter defender, very disruptive. And he has shown he can dribble penetrate against almost any defender.

I DO agree he needs to understand that he cannot get shots off deep in the lane at the rim with the big trees around him.

But you are vastly under-rating his overall game and value when you label his defense as merely average to average+. And by labelling him as a "scrappy" player - he is much more than merely scrappy. In football, Dremel can be categorized as "scrappy." Scrappy implies hard-working but under-talented and less athletic ... using their "scrappiness" or hard work to offset a lack of athleticism and skills. Davis is none of those. He is extremely quick, extremely athletic (a great vertical leap), with great defensive anticipation and instincts (also known as "skills") ... and hard-working) ... offensively, he has a very good dribble handle, and a quick first step. He DOES still need work on his shot selection and choices. We do not yet know whether his jump shot has improved, or his FT shooting (either or both of which would be very helpful, of course - in particular his FT shooting ... if his FT shooting becomes reliably in the 75% range, he can earn playing time near the end of games).

 

[Shelby65]

No, Davis' defense is not "average to average +", it is exceptional. Davis is a tremendous on-ball perimeter defender, very disruptive. And he has shown he can dribble penetrate against almost any defender.

I DO agree he needs to understand that he cannot get shots off deep in the lane at the rim with the big trees around him.

But you are vastly under-rating his overall game and value when you label his defense as merely average to average+. And by labelling him as a "scrappy" player - he is much more than merely scrappy. In football, Dremel can be categorized as "scrappy." Scrappy implies hard-working but under-talented and less athletic ... using their "scrappiness" or hard work to offset a lack of athleticism and skills. Davis is none of those. He is extremely quick, extremely athletic (a great vertical leap), with great defensive anticipation and instincts (also known as "skills") ... and hard-working) ... offensively, he has a very good dribble handle, and a quick first step. He DOES still need work on his shot selection and choices. We do not yet know whether his jump shot has improved, or his FT shooting (either or both of which would be very helpful, of course - in particular his FT shooting ... if his FT shooting becomes reliably in the 75% range, he can earn playing time near the end of games).

Agree with the long-winded defense analysis. On offense, I’ll be concise: selfish, poor shooter, ill-suited to 2 role on this roster.

 

[higgins3]

No, Davis' defense is not "average to average +", it is exceptional. Davis is a tremendous on-ball perimeter defender, very disruptive. And he has shown he can dribble penetrate against almost any defender.

I DO agree he needs to understand that he cannot get shots off deep in the lane at the rim with the big trees around him.

But you are vastly under-rating his overall game and value when you label his defense as merely average to average+. And by labelling him as a "scrappy" player - he is much more than merely scrappy. In football, Dremel can be categorized as "scrappy." Scrappy implies hard-working but under-talented and less athletic ... using their "scrappiness" or hard work to offset a lack of athleticism and skills. Davis is none of those. He is extremely quick, extremely athletic (a great vertical leap), with great defensive anticipation and instincts (also known as "skills") ... and hard-working) ... offensively, he has a very good dribble handle, and a quick first step. He DOES still need work on his shot selection and choices. We do not yet know whether his jump shot has improved, or his FT shooting (either or both of which would be very helpful, of course - in particular his FT shooting ... if his FT shooting becomes reliably in the 75% range, he can earn playing time near the end of games).

So you view him as an elite defender?

Offensively, there is a lot needed to be considered a threat at this level. I agree with his first step. We have seen nothing to say he is a good shooter. He has put in a tremendous amount of effort to get to this point, and it is a big achievement to be a D1 basketball player. His offense needs to improve dramatically for him to become effective at this level and take minutes away from an already clogged guard rotation.

 

[lion1983]

So you view him as an elite defender?

Offensively, there is a lot needed to be considered a threat at this level. I agree with his first step. We have seen nothing to say he is a good shooter. He has put in a tremendous amount of effort to get to this point, and it is a big achievement to be a D1 basketball player. His offense needs to improve dramatically for him to become effective at this level and take minutes away from an already clogged guard rotation.

Yes, I see Davis as an elite defender, on-ball especially.

And yes, he has a lot to prove on the offensive end - but he ain't no Jalen Miller offensively bad either. I'd be very happy to begin with this season if Davis would improve in TWO areas: Better shot selection (i.e. reduced number of wild drives to the basket into the teeth of big men) and 70% to 75% FT. Improvement in FT alone would make a very useful end-game player, because you could then trust him to make FT's when RU is ahead, but have him in for defense and helping breaking the press.

 

[Shelby65]

Yes, I see Davis as an elite defender, on-ball especially.

And yes, he has a lot to prove on the offensive end - but he ain't no Jalen Miller offensively bad either. I'd be very happy to begin with this season if Davis would improve in TWO areas: Better shot selection (i.e. reduced number of wild drives to the basket into the teeth of big men) and 70% to 75% FT. Improvement in FT alone would make a very useful end-game player, because you could then trust him to make FT's when RU is ahead, but have him in for defense and helping breaking the press.

Agree, except being better than Jalen Miller is hardly a reason to give him many minutes.

 

[higgins3]

Yes, I see Davis as an elite defender, on-ball especially.

And yes, he has a lot to prove on the offensive end - but he ain't no Jalen Miller offensively bad either. I'd be very happy to begin with this season if Davis would improve in TWO areas: Better shot selection (i.e. reduced number of wild drives to the basket into the teeth of big men) and 70% to 75% FT. Improvement in FT alone would make a very useful end-game player, because you could then trust him to make FT's when RU is ahead, but have him in for defense and helping breaking the press.

Gotcha. Elite is a category reserved for the top .01 of professions.

I do hear what you are saying as I feel like some of his drives are very wild. If he can make a pass, he can really help his team. I saw his free throwing percentage was not ideal for a player, let alone a guard.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

Yes, I see Davis as an elite defender, on-ball especially.

And yes, he has a lot to prove on the offensive end - but he ain't no Jalen Miller offensively bad either. I'd be very happy to begin with this season if Davis would improve in TWO areas: Better shot selection (i.e. reduced number of wild drives to the basket into the teeth of big men) and 70% to 75% FT. Improvement in FT alone would make a very useful end-game player, because you could then trust him to make FT's when RU is ahead, but have him in for defense and helping breaking the press.

I would say good defender, not elite. I hav no problem with him taking open shots or driving to the rim when he has an open lane, but the coaching staff needs to tell him that it is better to kick the ball out to his friend Ace or Dylan for a fade away 3 than for him to try to put up shots in traffic.

 

[lion1983]

I would say good defender, not elite. I hav no problem with him taking open shots or driving to the rim when he has an open lane, but the coaching staff needs to tell him that it is better to kick the ball out to his friend Ace or Dylan for a fade away 3 than for him to try to put up shots in traffic.

Well we shall have to agree to disagree on the level of defender Davis is.

Of course, labels or adjectives can mean different things to different people.

For example, Higgins3 says "elite" means the top 0.01%. I have no way to measure that. In college basketball, with maybe 350 teams (rounded guess) that means the top 0.01% of over 4000 scholarship players, or literally one of the top FIVE (5) defensive players in the country... I guess McConnell was that for 2 years running, as he was 1st team all American defense 2 times and the best defensive player in the country, or at worst the 2nd best his senior year. I do not think I can make the case Davis is one of the 5 best defenders in the country... And I certainly couldn't prove it. But I am comfortable arguing he is one of the top 10 on-ball defenders in the big ten, and I think that qualifies as elite to me.

And nyc supporter says Davis is a "good" defender. What does that actually mean? Is that average, above average, or what? I think Williams is an above average defender... Which I think is better than "good". And last season, Simpson was above average defender. Davis is, in my opinion, BETTER than either of them... And pikiell and the staff thought so also, as when Davis was in the game he generally defended the other team's best guard.

One major difference between Davis and McConnell is height. McConnell was 6'7" or 6'6", and therefore could defend a wider range of players. Davis, at 6'2" would not be able to defend certain taller players, especially if they posted up.

But, I certainly rate Davis as way better than merely a "good" defender, especially on-ball.

 

[RUfan1977]

Why does everything have to be so negative all the time, we showed immense talent and have a squad that plays hard, even if undersized. I mean, I can understand some concerns like defense, rebounding but like, are we really worried about Pike in these departments? He will figure it out. We didnt really do any of our special defensive coverages and are a team that usually works through their masterful defensive game plans that we didnt use. I mean the way I watched us it seems like we are more worried about the issues that hold us back from being an elite elite team than just a very good team. I dont see how you can be anything other than encouraged currently

Overall Rutgers isn’t undersized, however our 2 big centers are inexperienced and will need to work on better interior defense and rebounding. If Martini plays center he will be undersized. At Princeton he was effective at boxing out his man, but others needed to help rebound.

As well as Ace and Dylan played against St. Johns, they are also inexperienced. However, given their size, athleticism, and competitiveness, it seems likely that they will become solid rebounders as they get used to the intensity and physicality of the college game. They are both elite players and I look forward to them showing that this coming season.

 

[Unionst]

In the first half of his first year on the court with RU, Jacob Young drove recklessly to the hoop and was often stuffed. That got fixed. Hopefully the same can be done with Davis. Otherwise put him on the bench until it does get fixed. Too many wasted possessions.

 

[seansherm]

In the first half of his first year on the court with RU, Jacob Young drove recklessly to the hoop and was often stuffed. That got fixed. Hopefully the same can be done with Davis. Otherwise put him on the bench until it does get fixed. Too many wasted possessions.

Wasn't Youngs first year here, his fourth in college? JMike is a true soph. He's three years younger than JWill. He'll learn. Last years team wasn't a great teacher.

 

[zebnatto]

Yes, I see Davis as an elite defender, on-ball especially.

And yes, he has a lot to prove on the offensive end - but he ain't no Jalen Miller offensively bad either. I'd be very happy to begin with this season if Davis would improve in TWO areas: Better shot selection (i.e. reduced number of wild drives to the basket into the teeth of big men) and 70% to 75% FT. Improvement in FT alone would make a very useful end-game player, because you could then trust him to make FT's when RU is ahead, but have him in for defense and helping breaking the press.

Fundamentally agree. At this point, Davis has to see his job and his exceptional ability as being the defensive stopper and embrace. IMO, his offense is extremely weak. Become the guy no one wants guarding guarding him.

 

[Unionst]

Wasn't Youngs first year here, his fourth in college? JMike is a true soph. He's three years younger than JWill. He'll learn. Last years team wasn't a great teacher.

I think so. And that’s the hope.