Donovan Davis was already a coveted commodity in the upper Midwest region. The 6-foot-8 forward already had offers from Iowa State, Marquette, and Wisconsin before the end of his sophomore season. California threw in a fourth offer to boot in April to give it a look of a national recruitment.
But last Sunday was when he really got an idea of the nationwide interest he is generating. That was the first day college coaches could directly contact rising juniors. He heard from Kentucky, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Bradley, BYU, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Marquette, Syracuse, Saint Louis, and Iowa in no certain order.
Davis has already taken two unofficials to Iowa State, and he will be heading to Ames for visit number three, this time an official next Wednesday.
Team Herro had one of the top springs in the EYBL 16U division, and Davis was a key cog. He averaged 13.1 rebounds, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. The Wisconsin native was a head turning 36 of 46 from the field for 78.3% in eight games (that is not a misprint). Only six of his 52 shots came from behind the arc. He had two of those tries.
Cats Illustrated spoke with Davis for the first time on Thursday where we learned more about one of Kentucky's newest prospects of interest.
CI: Give us a scouting report on your game.
Davis: “I’m kind of an inside-out player. I can play in, and I can also play on the perimeter. I can play three through five. For my Herro team I mostly play the four and the five, but on my Freedom team mostly three and four. Usually for Herro I’m getting rebounds, just creating stuff for my team, so that is mostly about it for Team Herro. For my high school team its mostly about getting the ball and making space, and creating space for me to score, and looking for teammates who are open as well.”
CI: So much of the game nowadays in college and pro is about versatility. They have size and can play and defend multiple positions. Would you consider yourself a modern day player?
Davis: “Yeah, I can play many positions, so I call myself probably a versatile player.”
CI: When you are on the perimeter is it more about stretching the floor with your shot, or getting bigger players on you and going by them, and posting up smaller players? Or is it a mixture of both?
Davis: “It’s kind of a combination of everything. If that’s posting up smaller defenders, or getting out on the perimeter in isolation on that side, and then being able to shoot the three, so you kind of hit it spot on. That’s most of the stuff I can do. I’ve gotten better at shooting the three than I have in the past. That’s something I’m working on. I’m always working on just becoming better and better every single day.”
CI: You’ve got a visit coming up to Iowa State who has already offered. You also have others from Marquette and Wisconsin. There are already some very interested programs in that region.
Davis: “Yeah, so I actually got my Wisconsin offer last summer about this time when I went to one of their camps. I think in October I actually went down to Iowa State for a visit, and then they offered me during the visit. Marquette happened during the high school season when the playoffs started. I got the Cal offer probably a month or two ago. I’ve got a pretty good relationship with all four of those schools. Marquette and Iowa State are usually calling me (his circle) once a week. Wisconsin reached out this Sunday. So I have a pretty good relationship with all of those schools.”
CI: How crazy has it been since Sunday with coaches and media people like me calling and texting all of the time?
Davis: “It’s been a pretty good experience. I’m grateful for the opportunity that I’m able to be in. I’m just super thankful that I have people around me that are able to support me and help me with this journey. It’s been a lot of texts mostly, not a lot of calls. It’s a pretty fun experience.”
CI: How about Kentucky’s contact?
Davis: “The assistant coach, Cody Fueger, just texted me. It said, “This is Cody Feuger from Kentucky. We are going to keep following you.” That was mostly it. One of my coaches told me they are going to keep tabs, and stay in contact with me for a little bit.”
CI: Did you get to watch any Kentucky games last season, because it sounds like the things that you do fits his system.
Davis: “I watched some of their games like mostly in the SEC Tournament, and mostly some of their big games. I didn’t watch that much, but I did watch some of it. Mark Pope is a really good coach, especially coming in during his first year at an elite program like Kentucky. He did pretty good. It’s obviously a legendary program that everybody knows of, and they’ve been good the last decade. It’s cool that I’m getting interest from them, and that they are going to keep following me.”
CI: Have you been a fan of college basketball, and do you feel like you know a lot about the Kentucky program?
Davis: “Yeah, I’ve watched college basketball more the past two years than I have. But usually I would just watch March Madness and some of the conference tournaments. But now it’s like regular season games. I’m watching teams and seeing how they play, and if I would fit in with their program. Just stuff like that.”
CI: Are there players you watch and see some of them in your game, or are there ones that you try to emulate?
Davis: “My trainer used to say I was like a Carmelo Anthony type of player. Recently, I think I’ve kind of grown apart from that. I talked to a different coach, and he said I’m more like a Jalen Williams type of player. I just can do a little bit of everything: post up, shoot threes, drive to the basket, and stuff like that. I think I would compare it to Jalen Williams.”
